Chalk Vase

Hi Everyone! Happy Monday! It was quite a long one for me.. but I'm glad I can come here and take my mind off things =)

I'd like to share a small craft I did over the weekend. It's a Valentine's day gift for my mom and sister.

I've been wanting to try out chalk paint for a while, but I couldn't find any spot in my house to try it out. So I thought I'd try it out on a glass vase! The idea behind it, you can personalize it for whatever the occasion. 

Here's what you need...

•  A Glass Vase, Pitcher, Wine Bottle or whatever you like to put flowers in (I picked up 2 for $1 each at the dollar store)
• A small foam roller and tray (under $5 bucks any hardware store)
• A stir stick (free!)
• Painters tape (unless you are planning on painting the whole vase)
• White or color chalk
• Chalkboard paint (this is the pricey part - I paid $16 for a quart - but it will last me a while just doing small projects like this)

Make sure the surface you are going to paint is clean. Tape off the areas you don't want to paint.

Shake or stir the paint well. Pour into tray. Roll in foam roller and fill with paint. Roll onto vase.

Let your first coat dry for four hours, then apply a second coat. Make sure you clean your tray and roller in between!

Let dry overnight. Fill with fresh of fake flowers and whatever else you'd like!

It's really hard to write with a brand new piece of chalk! 

Have fun with this - there's endless possibilities! I'd love to hear what you do with it =)

Happy Valentine's Day Odds & End-ers!

Heidi

ABC.. Easy as 123 Bulletin Board for Daycare, School, or Kid's Space

My sister recently had a little baby boy (my first nephew!). She was a Catholic school preschool teacher, but decided to start an in-home day care so she can stay at home and raise her son. Oh boy, is there a lot involved in running a day care! I helped her with one small project this weekend...

She needed a place to display important documents for parents. Instead of a plan old brown bulletin, I decided to add some color! 

Sorry, this picture is a little blurry. (I have misplaced my camera charger for quite a long time now... so I've been stuck with just using my cell phone! Time to get a new camera =) )

So, all you need for this project is....

• A few pieces of foam paper (I got a pack from the dollar store - I believe it was about 2mm  in thickness, but you can go thicker if you'd like)
• A pair of scissors
• A box cutter (to cut out the inside parts of some of the numbers and letters)
• A hot glue gun
• A bulletin board (we found ours at a rummage sale - $3 - can't beat that price!)
• Optional: Stencils to trace out the letters and numbers (I just free-handed mine - it's not as hard as you would think!)

Finished product...

Well... what do you think?? =)

I will share another photo once she hangs it up on the wall.

Stay creative Odds & End'ers!

Heidi