DIY Chalkboard Wall

My friend Kim made this cool chalkboard wall a few weeks ago.  I thought that was a real fun idea, so I decided to create one in my kitchen.  

I went to Lowes and bought some chalkboard paint, primer, and rollers.  I was thinking to make mine magnetic, but the paint did not get good reviews, so I stuck with plain chalkboard paint.  The paint was 9 bucks.  So if you have the other things in your garage, this would be an inexpensive project.  I like using disposable rollers, so I don't have to clean anything.  

 


Next I primed the surface with two coats of primer.  Then I put on three coats of chalkboard paint.  I waited four hours between coats to make sure it was really dry.  Then you have to wait 24 hours before you can write on the wall.

 The next step is IMPORTANT!  You have to prime the surface of the wall.  Rub chalk all over your wall.  I used the side of chalk and this went pretty quickly.    I was a bit dusty, but it wiped up real fast.  If you don't do this step you will get shadows left behind of everything you write on the board and will have to repaint the wall more often.  

Priming the wall gave it a real nice look.  It didn't look so stark black.  Can you tell the difference in the picture below?

   When you wipe it off, use a cotton piece of material.  I used an old t shirt.  This worked great.  Plus you can just rinse it out and throw it in the wash. 

Now comes the fun part.  You all know I am a doodler, so this was fun.  I can change out the art/doodles, notes, lists (I love lists!) all the time!

This project was a bit time consuming project.  It was sooooo hard to let it dry for 24 hours and NOT draw on it.  I love how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a blessed day!  

She Art Week 2

During week 2 of the She Art class, Christy showed us how to create layers on our girls.  

 

 My girls hairdo reminds me of the bump it.  I added the headband to try and calm down the height of the hair.

For this young lady I made her skirt with a bunch of different papers.  I also gave her a cute little cape and hat.   

This canvas has a lot of little details.

 

Thanks for stopping by...

Have a blessed day!

Getting Messy

I am exploring another mix media class over at Christy Tomlinson's website.  This class involves a bit of painting.  I am trying to master the hair and faces.  

 I am using a bunch of stencils, paints, stamps, rub-ons, inks and modeling paste for the backgrounds.  It is really fun getting messy while I create the bases for my girls.

 Next weeks canvases will involve more layers, different hairstyles and clothing styles.

Tiny Canvas Creations

Today I pulled out some itty bitty canvases.  

They are 4"x 5" in size.  

I painted the background my favorite color of blue.  Then I took some tissue paper and twisted them into pretty little flowers.

I glued the flowers to paper circles.

Twist the paper as you go around.

I added some stamps, paint, rub-ons and ink to the canvas  Then I cut out grass,
stems, and leaves from green paper.  I Modge Podged it all on and
add some paint and more stamps for texture.  

My next canvas I did the same steps and added a heart.

Less of self and more of Jesus, More and more each day like Thee; Just to live in full surrender For my Lord who ransomed me. —Wonder

No life is more secure than a life surrendered to God.

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Hello Spring!

I am so ready for SPRING! 

 How about YOU?

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night,

Hill and vale and tree and flower,

Sun and moon and stars of light,

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our hymn of grateful praise. —Pierpoint

Thanks for stopping by............

Word Filled Wednesday

Shared on Word Art Wednesday

Word Filled Wednesday

Shared at Word Art Wednesday

Christmas Art

This month I have been working on some 

mix media Christmas art!  

I love Christy Tomlinson's artwork.  

She is messy and creative!  

 It's all about making a textured background with Mod Podge, paper, paint, rubons and stamps.  Then we created different subjects, like trees, animals, snowmen and my favorite baby Jesus. Then you highlights, paint and doodle to add detail to the piece.

My snowman is made with washi tape.   I made boxes so it looked like he was made with presents.  

I just used cardboard for the "canvas".  You can use cereal boxes, wood scraps or whatever you have laying around.  

I still have a few more projects to work on.  I just wanted to share these with all of you!  Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Cards

This year I made my Christmas cards.  I found a couple ideas on Pinterest.  Again, I only used papers I already had around the craft room.  I have to use all this stuff up, so I can have an excuse to buy more. ;)

 I really liked making this card.  I got to use my Cuttlebug, Cricut and MS scoring board.  It has so much texture.  

I found this word art on Pinterest.  I cut it into a tree and layered it onto an embossed piece of cardstock. I then added a star, bling and a bit of ribbon to finish it off.  

 OK, these were my favorite to make.  I am taking a mix media/painting class and these were 

one of the techniques.  I made watercolor cards.  

Each one is a little bit different.  So cute!

While at the November crop, I saw a lady making these nativity cards.  So I borrowed her Cricut cartridge and cut some out to make at home.  I like this one because it represents the true meaning of Christmas.

Luke 2: 2-20

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Saviorhas been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Word Filled Wednesday

Word Filled Wednesday

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy and find grace

to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

If you want that splendid power in prayer —

you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ.”
~C.H. Spurgeon

Word Filled Wednesday

I haven't been posting my art journal for a long time because I ran out of ideas.  I mean I could slap a verse or quote in randomly, but I want this little book to have meaning to those who find it after I am gone. 

 I stumbled upon this BLOG. 

She uses her journal to doodle/draw what she learned in church each week.  That little idea has inspired me to do something similar with my art journal. 

 Be available to the Lord.  Setting your priorities in life, so the Lord is numero uno.  Listening for His guidance and surrendering to His call. 

Have a blessed day!

Doodles and Painting

I have been staring at these gesso covered canvases for about a week now.  Stephanie from Homegrown Hospitality has fantastic doodle classes online.  You can also get a lot of inspiration just from reading her blog.  Anyway, I decided to create my little doodle cards onto the big 16x20 canvases.

So I went to AC Moore and tried to match the colors I used on the card with paints.  I painted my background and because I am not a patient person I used my heat gun to dry them.

Next I drew lightly, with a pencil, my flowers all around the brown area.  Next came the filling in of the areas.  It took a long time to paint, dry, repaint, layer, dry....... each canvas.  Then I took a sharpie and puff paints and added the little outlines and details.

Note:  Don't buy the REAL cheap acrylic paint!  They don't cover really well and you will have to repaint the areas over and over!

 Here are the finished pieces!

Thanks for stopping by.................