Chalkboard Pantry Door

My last post was about my making chalkboard labels for organizing your pantry jars. After that, I figured it was an obvious transition to show you my pantry door makeover! You may remember from my Home Photo Tour that I have a corner pantry with a cute skinny door next to my fridge. And if you didn't...well here's a refresher:

I've known ever since moving in that I wanted to paint that door and do something fun. As I mentioned last time, I am loving the chalkboard trend and so the idea came to me (most likely via Pinterest, because let's be honest I am a total copy-cat and not an inventor of awesome ideas) that I would paint the door and the top middle panel would be a chalkboard. The only question was, what color to paint it? My dishes and kitchen is full of colors. I didn't know should I try to match something I already had or go with something totally new? And if I'm matching, WHAT item/color do I match it too???

 And so, like with most of my projects, that one question with no good answer meant that I pushed it to the back burner for a good procrastination simmer. Well thank goodness for friends who have different personalities than you! My wonderful friend of many years came over for a weekend of projects! Seriously, she came to help me paint and get things done. How awesome is that? Aren't you all jealous that I have a friend like that!? If you're not, you should be! This girl is awesome!

 
We initially set our sights lower with the only task to accomplish being: Paint the Master Bedroom (blog to come about that soon when a couple more items get finished). However, like I said, this girl is awesome, and once she gets going, she is on a roll! We got not just one, but four projects done that weekend! And we had time to boat on the lake for 3+ hours! I'm really thinking she needs to move across the street...help me persuade her!

Once I mentioned my idea for the pantry door, actually I don't think I even finished saying the words, she said "Let's do it right now!" Oh but hold on there girl, what color? See this is where things come to a halt...."the same color as your Kitchen Aid!" 

 
Oooooooooo. I liked it. No, I loved it! We were just about to jump in the car and head to the store to buy paint when I suddenly remembered that I still had more than half a quart of paint from when I did my little entryway table. Hmmmmm...that could work.

  It was almost a perfect match to my Kitchen Aid, which is Pistachio by the way. So without further delay, we started painting! We did two coats and then taped and covered with newspaper so we could spray paint the chalkboard. I did three coats of the chalkboard paint.

The next morning we (and by 'we' I mean my husband) put the door back on. I was so excited at how good it looked. I seriously could not stop smiling. I was also smiling because we spent $0 to accomplish this project since I already owned both paints from previous projects.

But then we didn't stop there. I grabbed the prints and frames that I had bought several months ago to go in my kitchen. I used some of my patterned cardstock to mat the pictures, framed them, and then asked hubby if he would hang them.
 

Aren't they so cute? I love the vintage look of them and the pops of color! I ordered these prints from All Posters. They are several more to choose from and it was hard to pick only three of the cute prints, but I have limited wall space in my kitchen so I had to stop at three.

Ta-da! This little corner just makes me so happy! So glad my wonderful friend came and helped me get this done finally! Just think how productive I would be and how much more decorated my house would be if she lived here! She was quite intrigued by the (much) lower housing costs here compared to where she lives...(I'm using every persuasion I've got).

I update the chalkboard every week with the meals we will be eating for the upcoming week. My hubby loves it so he can know what food to look forward to. I really need to practice some fun fonts and handwriting now that I have a big chalkboard.
 

Thanks so much to my friend for all her inspiration and help!

Do you have a friend like mine who is so different from you that its helpful?

What projects have you procrastinated on for SO long and then finally did?

Do you have any fun artwork in your kitchen?

Spring Crafting and Decorating

In honor of spring, National Craft Month, and my March Goals, I had some fun last weekend!

I've had this little picket fence box for a year and decided it was time to give it a makeover. I wanted to make it classic white but also look authentic with some scuffs, crackles, etc.

After the first (dark) coat dries, then you apply the Martha Stewart crackle medium. I brushed it on more on the lighter side because the packaging said the heavier you put it on the bigger the cracks. Well, those fence posts are not that big so I didn't want the crackles to take over. If I could do it again, I would put more of the crackle medium on because I didn't get much of an effect.

Close up of the crackle. This one fence post is the only good one. The other side of the little planter didn't show ANY crackle. It's not as good as I hoped it would turn out, but it does look more rustic than if I had just done white.

Next craft task--I saw this tutorial for a pinwheel wreath and knew right away that I wanted to make it. Thanks to Sabrina at Neverland Nook for the easy-to-follow tutorial with pictures and directions. I've had my eye on this stack of yummylicious paper at JoAnn's for over a month now. I didn't have a specific use for it so kept telling myself not to buy it so it would just sit in my craft pile with so many other things that I haven't gotten around too. But then, Sabrina's pinwheel wreath tutorial provided the PERFECT reason to make this paper mine.

The lighting isn't the best for these pictures. It was nighttime when I was crafting so I had to use flash. But don't these papers just make you smile!?! I want this to be a fabric line so that when I have a little girl (someday) I can ask my mom to make a quilt out of this fabric!

According to her directions, first cut the paper into 5"x5" squares.

Then glue two different patterns together to make it double-sided.

I didn't take any pictures of making the pinwheels because I was having too much fun. The fact that I needed all my hands to hold the 4 corners may have been a factor as well. :) But Sabrina took pictures and gives great directions how to make the pinwheels so definitely go check out her blog.

Aren't they so fun and whimsical?

Here's the finished project!

I'm in love with it and so glad I made it!

After my crafting was complete, I got to putting it all together for my spring decor. I found the birdcage, frame, and key in the $1-$3 section at Michael's. The key came in a variety pack of 5. I made the blue jar 3 years ago and the wooden birch slice is from my wedding. You can find the spring subway art printable here.

Can you believe after living in our house for 9 months this canvas was the first thing we FINALLY hung on the walls last weekend. Good grief! My mom gave it to me when she was moving a year ago. It fits along perfectly with my latest bird obsession.

Not much on the calendar this month but the few items that are there are big: spring! March Madness! Ireland!

Then we were on a roll and decided to hang something else! I knew I wanted this canvas when I saw it at Hobby Lobby, but I had no idea where it would go that would be just perfect. Hubby held it against various walls so I could look and then he thought of this wall above our stairs. I love it there!

I think it fills the space so nicely and I get to see it multiple times a day!

The end of our bar needed a little spring lovin. I made the button cross last year when I was crafting and decorating for our spring mantel.

This year's spring mantle!

This nest basket (also from my mom) was perfect to go along with my birdie silhouette and some wooden eggs.

I followed some tips from Bird's Party Blog to give my wooden eggs a speckled effect.

I don't consider myself an artist by a long shot so I was pretty proud of myself when my chalkboard turned out this good! My inspiration was this pin whose source I cannot find but it may have been inspired by this chalkboard. I went with a mushroom instead of a bunny or chick because animals are definitely not something I can draw.

The last touch is this little bicycle I found at JoAnn's. I want to find a mini succulent to put in the holder but a candle will do for now.

Have you done anything crafty this month? Do you decorate for spring or only holidays?
Have you used the Martha Stewart crackle medium before? How did it work for you?

Seahawks Superbowl Party

Most of the bloggers out there plan way ahead and will give you recipes, crafts, decorations, and tips for an upcoming event. I give major kudos to those ladies. I, however, am not one of those bloggers. Not by a long shot. I am usually a week to a month late on posting about my holiday creations. Or hey...maybe I AM the ultimate planner and I'm getting you ready for next year. ;) No? Okay, well anyways, even if it doesn't help you prepare for your events, at least you can see what's been going on for me lately. And years from now, I can also look back and pat myself on the back for still doing the baking, crafting, decorating, party hosting, etc. even though I wasn't the ultimate blogger. :)

All that to say...here is what Superbowl Sunday looked like around here!

Starting with my paint chip dry erase calendar:

Thank you to Jacquelyn at Style Me Pretty for these free Superbowl Commercial Bingo printables.

Our guests had a really fun time with this game. Everyone got into it and we would debate about if something counted or not. Unfortunately we didn't think the commercials were that great this year and none of us got a black out but it still made for a friendly competition when we weren't focused on the game.

Here's the table decor. The megaphone and pom-poms were from the Dollar Store a couple years ago for the March Madness championship game and the tablecloth was less than a dollar at WalMart.

I made the footballs using my Silhouette and the ribbon I use as a belt/sash for one of my dresses. I love finding things around my home to use rather than buying or making new things all the time.

In case the crayons and colors on the table didn't give it away, we were cheering for the Seahawks!

I used my Silhouette sketch pens to draw the outlines of the letters and then cut the pennants and footballs with it as well. I used Sharpies to color in the letters. The twine and clothespins were already up from Christmas decor--this is where I displayed Christmas cards we received.

I had to get put away all my Christmas decorations so instead of having a bare dresser, I pulled anything blue and green that I had. (You can also see part of the awesome gift my hubby got for Christmas there on the left...he loves that bean bag and was so surprised!)

I didn't have any football printables or time to get one printed so I grabbed a chalkboard and drew something instead. I knew to use X's and O's and that yardage lines but hubby had to help me with the play.

So maybe candles, vases, and fake flowers have NOTHING to do with a Superbowl, but hey, they were the right colors!

Moving to the food and decorations there. And don't forgot the Skittles!

I used the negative space from my footballs and attached them to mason jars with a zig pen. I got the idea for the jars from Bev at Flamingo Toes. Yes, I know the stitches are white but I already had these brown ones that were just going to be thrown away so I decided to just go for it. (I am realizing I need to figure out a trick for taking pictures of glass jars...these didn't turn out so great. Also, can you see me in the spoons?)

When I saw this Seahawks silhouette design on Pinterest, I knew right away I would be using it! Thanks so much to Lisa at Sweet Benana & Sam for creating and sharing this free Seahawks SVG file! When I grabbed this design, I decided to create my own printable. I added the words and used my Silhouette sketch pens to draw it.

A couple weeks before the big game, during a quick trip to the grocery store for a couple items, I saw the plates and napkins and threw them in my basket. At that point, we hadn't even confirmed we were having a party but somehow Seahawks plates and napkins was all I needed as motivation. :)

Blue and Green Sweets!

I decorated two different kinds of cupcakes. Thanks to the class I took at JoAnn's I had a lot of fun practicing my frosting skills making these.

Sprinkles for the 12th man!

And a Skittle atop the swirl

Seattle Seahawks Cupcakes

And for the sweet 'n salty taste, I made three different kinds of pretzel rods: chocolate with heath, white chocolate with M&M's and sprinkles, and chocolate with a white chocolate football stitch decoration. I just couldn't resist using my blue mason jars from Target as the finishing touch.

In addition to the desserts, I made BBQ pulled pork for sliders and we had potato salad and veggies. My husband also made his own recently-created guacamole recipe which is delicious! Our friends brought several other yummy dishes. As is necessary for any Superbowl Party, we had lots (so many leftovers) of food, cheering, and fun! It made it so much better when our team won dominated the game!

So maybe you can use some of these ideas next year for any Seahawks game! :)