CHEAP Elmer's glue crackle chalkboards

Dear Faithful Readers - Here's a wonderful way to shabby up some simple frames for some very cool looking chalkboards. I' ll soon be back to regular posting now that I've finished chemo and radiation and the side effects are diminishing.

In the meantime, enjoy. It's simple and cheap and has a big WOW factor. You can do this!!



I used this super simple but effective process on some chalkboards awhile back, and here's the tutorial. You'll love it. You'll want to crackle something for sure. I love this cheap crackle technique! It seems like magic every time I use it and did I mention that it was cheap? Holy cow, with Elmer's school glue 4 for $1 right now, I have stocked up big time.

I started out with cupboard doors from a local bargain builder's supplyat $1 each. After spray painting them flat black (which saves you money on the expensive chalkboard paint) I spread the glue on really thick. I did not use a brush for this but laid a nice line of glue around the frame and spread it with my fingers. You are not looking for an elegant finish here, you want a nice layer of glue on your intended crackled target. Now, wait til it gets tacky. DO NOT LET THE GLUE DRY, the glue MUST be moist when you do the next step.

Taking plain old acrylic craft paint, load up your brush and paint, in one direction only, a nice thick coat of color. Do NOT go back and try to touch up and at this point and do NOT go back and forth. One direction, one swipe, with a light touch. You want a nice layer of paint on top of the still moist glue layer. The crackle effect will begin almost immediately and within a few minutes you will see a great aged patina bloom right before your eyes. The picture above was taken within 5 minutes of painting.

Crackle, baby!

It does not matter if your paint goes on thick and thin, as this effect looks much better with a bit of uneven paint. Look at that, it makes me smile every time I do this. If you have some spots you have to touch up, use a smaller paint brush and a light touch and go in the same direction as before but lightly, lightly. At this point it is very easy to drag the paint and the glue and make a big non crackled spot. If this does happen, let it dry, add more glue and repaint with a gentle hand. This technique is very forgiving.

If you have perhaps got distracted by kids, pets, some kitchen disaster, life and your glue has dried, don't worry. Just add more glue and go on from there. I've done this dozens of times and this technique has lots of wiggle room.


Oooh, ahhh. I like the white on black, love the black on white and ADORE the turquoise on white. Gorgeous, just gorgeous. Let your paint and glue dry thoroughly before you seal the crackled edges with clear acrylic. I added a thin layer of umber glaze before I sealed mine. Then paint the centers with chalkboard paint. Wait 24 hours or close to it if you are impatient like me ;0) and season the chalkboard with a layer of chalk, wipe it off and voila! Easy peasy crackle framed chalkboard, baby!



My FAVORITE board was the red on black, it was stunning and of course it was the first one we sold at the Artwalk. Now I'll have to make another. Good thing I stocked up on Elmer's glue!

I'm linking this up to the fun linky parties. Be there or be square!

http://www.elizabethandcovintage.com/

Mossy Decor Balls

Sorry I've been AWOL for these many weeks. Finishing chemo, starting radiation, selling our house and moving have totally wiped me out! The good news is that in the next couple of weeks our life will settle down once more and I can start posting all the great ideas I've got piled up in my brain.

For now, here is one of my favorite springtime projects which I posted last year. I plan on making more of these mossy balls, and soon. Enjoy!




I wanted something fresh and natural looking for my living room and I knew I wanted to incorporate the bright green color of moss with weathered wood and stones. Unfortunately, the natural moss on our hillside is already turning brown and rusty, so I got to thinking how much I loved the color and texture of the Dollar Store moss rocks I had used before. I had looked at their sheet moss and it was too gray and drab for me. I want emerald mossy green!


I gathered the moss rocks I had on hand and 3 different sizes of plastic Christmas balls. After spray painting two a nice brown and leaving the other it's original silver, I planned to slice the curvy parts of the moss rocks off so I would have a bunch of moss covered shapes to hot glue to the balls.

Eww, I did not like it! It looked dumb! So I was talking to my visiting teen age grandson about this and he suggested peeling the moss off the styrofoam "rocks." Who knew the moss peeled off???? He proceeded to show me.



I told him he was a genius and he had saved my project! As you can see the moss peels off in irregular pieces, but you want these shapes for the best results. I used a razor knife to start the process but the moss peels off surprising easily. And if a bit of the white styrofoam sticks to it, it is okay, because you do not want the balls to be totally smooth anyway.

I just used hot glue and started covering the balls. I put the glue on the ball a small area at a time and laid the moss on top, and also the other way, with the glue on the moss instead. It works equally well as long as you have your moss pieces handy because hot glue dries pretty quickly. If it does dry before you get the moss totally stuck it is okay, just add more glue. The extra layer of glue and some of the stuck on styrofoam makes the ball less "bally" and more like a natural shape you might actually find in nature. That is, not a perfect round and a bit lumpy.


Save even your smallest scraps of moss to fill in and cover the edges where they are too straight. You do not want this to look like a bad toupee, but a natural, moss covered surface. Be sure to glue any edges that are sticking up and smooth your joints down. Any hot glue strings that are left on the ball can be readily melted away with your hair dryer once you are done.


I arranged them in my wooden bowl which usually holds all our electronics remotes. (We have SIX!!!! What the heck??!? Ahem. The remotes are now in a basket to the side.) I added more Dollar Store finds, like the polished rocks and pretty gravel, plus a chunk of really interesting driftwood and my favorite feather and paper dragonfly. With just a few little mini spruce cones, this little display is perfect.


It now resides on my painted coffee table (which was a $7 auction find from 28 years ago!!! It is also another blog post!) and it just makes me happy to look at it. I love the brilliant green "moss" and the wood grain of the bowl and grey texture of the driftwood and the polished stones....it makes me smile. And the best thing? When I got done with it and was taking my pictures, our grandson took a look at it and said, "That looks cool, Gramma!" High praise indeed coming from a teenager!!

It took 3 bags of Dollar Store moss rocks to do this project so that is certainly affordable. I already had the 3 different Christmas balls on hand, plus the rocks and gravel. If you actually bought what you needed just to make the 3 balls you could certainly do them for under $6 and end up with a very fresh accent for your summertime home. How about some Dollar Store wiffle balls mossified and stacked in a cloche or glass hurricane? I am wondering how this would work on a couple of birdhouses for a bit of cool, mossy goodness? Hmmmm.

I'm linking up to the parties on my sidebar, please visit and see all the fantastic projects listed there! Thanks for coming by and leave a comment, if you will. I love and read them all. And check out my other posts, you never know what you will find!

Two Tissue Boxes For My Desk Redo

For my continuing desk/office space remodel I had two tissue box covers I'd found at a Thrift Store. They were flowery and oh so eighties but they were .99 each so I nabbed them. Here's the first one which my daughter, Insanely Creative Christy, Mod Podged with cleanly cut book pages. She is neat and methodical in her craftiness while I am more untidy and, um, let's say, flightier in my craftiness. ;0) But I did add the chalkboard label. See how nicely it came out between the two of us?

And it matches the Mod Podged storage boxes and the little cubbyhole shelf so well!

Then I remembered this post over at Can't Stop Making Things about making faux first editions with hot glue and tissue paper. Here's the inspiration pic....

And here's the link...
http://www.cantstopmakingthings.com/2010/09/leather-bound-first-edition.html

So cool! This is just one of many neat projects on that clever blog.

I used a very similar technique in my own blog post, but I never thought to make faux books with it! Here's my link.....

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2010/05/3-d-effect-with-hot-glue.html

So I added dimension with hot glue, then decoupaged crinkled tissue paper over everything and painted the whole shebang black. I brushed on Elmer's glue then white paint for a cool crackled look, then dry brushed with black. NOTE-let the glue get tacky and brush on the paint in one direction only. You will see the crackle magically appear as the glue and paint dry! It is VERY COOL.

Here's a link to my Elmer's glue crackle paint post-

http://makethebestofthings.blogspot.com/2010/05/crackle-finish-with-elmers-glue.html

I added more details and a number with a Sharpie then glued on a vintage style heart and skeleton key. Lovin' it!

And now I have TWO tissue box covers for my desk. Hmmm. I like them both. Instead of choosing between them, I'll just have to put one on each side, lol!

These were both fun, easy projects and cheap, too. That's a win win in my book. I'll be linking up to the parties in my sidebar, come visit and see what's cooking in blogland this week!

Driftwood Mirror

My kids came up for a visit the weekend before chemo made all my hair fell out (lo, these many
months ago!) and we went to a nearby lake and collected a whole LOT of driftwood. You see, I had big plans to make some driftwood mirrors right away. I will use the excuse that I let the wood dry by the wood stove all this time, but really, it's the old Procrastination Bug. You know how it is, ladies.

 But this last week the Energy Bug kicked the Procrastination Bug in the patooty and I finally got this done.

With a hot cuppa tea at my side and some jazz on Pandora, I went to town. I LOVE how this baby came out! I added some rocks and even a little bit of white dry brush highlights, and it came out EXACTLY as I had pictured it!

Here's the beginning of this whole project; a pile of driftwood in all its weather worn and rugged glory and an 80s era print framed mirror. When my master bath had ivy stenciling it looked good in there, but now, not so much.

I covered the whole frame with strips of burlap using hot glue. That way any gaps would just show the burlap texture and not the green and yellow background. This project went so fast that I don't think it took me an hour from start to finish. Super easy, super fast, super good looking and CHEAP! That's my kind of project. It took longer than that to take pictures good enough to post!

Ooh aah! So hard to see the detail with all the clutter in the reflection, but it will go perfectly in my master bath. I'm changing the room over to a turquoise/brown/tan/coastal theme and this mirror is the perfect starting accessory. I think the round mirror in the pic will get a driftwood makeover next.

Here's another pic without all that distracting reflection clutter. So pretty.

Oops! Say hello to the lady blogger with the camera, lol!

The main tip for this super easy and effective project is driftwood, bone dry and lots of it. The burlap definitely helped the hot glue adhere. Rocks and even sea shells would be perfect accents, even sand dollars and little starfish. I think I'm going to add some frosty sea glass to my next couple of driftwood mirrors, too. Oooh, I wonder how a strand of tarnished pearls would look wound in and out of the wood? Gotta try it!

So what fast and easy project have you got on your list that you just haven't got around to doing? Check your stash, put on a little music and MAKE THAT THING! You've been thinking about it for months, now go do it. You may surprise yourself with something super cool or at the very least know what won't work next time you try it. Good luck, friends!

I BOUGHT a wreath!

Yes, ladies, I actually paid money for a premade wreath, already gussied up and pretty and ready to go. BUT, in my defense, just look at this gorgeous thing! I fell in love with succulent wreaths a couple of years ago and vowed to make a real live one someday and I've looked and looked at the fake ones.....that started at $39.99! Even the Wal Mart version started out at $29.99! Then I saw they'd been marked down to $19.99. Still a no go on my mini budget.....



....and then I saw the clearance price for this wreath was finally down to $10.00! I could actually handle that price and I grabbed that puppy up and toted it home. Of course I couldn't leave it alone and added a few more bits of mossy rock and a feathery faux fern or two and my favorite paper dragonfly, but still, ten buckaroos. This made me smile and smile!


So I put it atop my enormous glass hurricane I'd filled with decor balls and vine balls and a glittery dragonfly and monkey's fist knots and pine cones and driftwood....I love how the wreath and hurricane with all their lovely textures looks against the muslin curtains in that corner. Just looking at it makes me feel spring is in the air, because outside the other window it doesn't look like spring at all, it looks like this.....

Yes folks, 25 degrees and 2 inches of new snow this morning. It's so beautiful and so cold!
Winter is not giving up without a fight around here! Hopefully it will melt this afternoon. Hopefully spring is rushing this way as we speak. But in the meantime.....

Ooh aah. Ten dollars well spent, I think. Until it's green again outside, I'll take my greens anyway I can get them! Hope you have a little bit of springtime hopefulness sprouting in your house this season. Bless you!

More Desk Redo-Quick Pretty Mousepad Fix

I'm still working on my desk/office area and here's a fast and easy project that really turned out well. I added this pretty little side table to hold my mouse, etc. and topped it and its shelf with tile as a temporary fix.


I love to buy tile samples like these for less than a $1 at Lowe's and use them for trivets, work surfaces and temporary fixes like this. I have plans for this little table so I did not want to do anything permanent to its top or shelf so I thought the tile would be a perfect solution. But my mouse didn't like the small imperfections in the top tile and started getting persnickety.

So I cut a 16" square of foamboard...

Pulled this pretty damask wrapping paper (Target $3.99) and cut off a generous square.
If you know me, you know what comes next!

Yup, Mod Podge and a handy business/credit/debit/stiff plastic card for smoothing and soon I had this.....

A nice surface for my mouse that doesn't permanently alter the side table. The black and white damask print looks so good with my book page boxes and display stand and burlap ruffled bulletin boards. I like the way it came out!

I just wish every decorating/working solution was this fast and easy. I have a few more projects for this desk/office area not only to prettify it but to organize it and I'll show them to you soon. I tell you, when I see how this is shaping up it makes me smile! Don't you love finished projects that lift your spirits?

Book page Mod Podge boxes for desk storage

For the shelf above my desk I've been using a whole row of black wire baskets, which look good when they're empty but when they are full to overflowing they just look messy and unkempt. So after I Mod Podged book pages on the little cubby shelf for my desktop I decided to make some storage boxes for my desk. Here's how they came out...

I like how the Mod Podge medium actually darkens the edges of the pages, giving them a golden hue. Here's what I did....

I picked out some good sturdy boxes in various sizes, including a round box that looked like an old ice cream carton. First I glued the pages on then finished with a layer of Mod Podge and matte spray sealer. Easy peasy and CHEAP too.

There is no set plan to this project, altho when my daughter, Insanely Creative Christy, decoupages with book pages she uses smaller, neater, well trimmed pieces applied in nice designs. Me? Not so much, lol!

I used a silver pencil to give the label frames a pewter looking finish then used chalkboard paint on the labels so I could change them up.

I'm still thinking about adding gold or copper brads to the labels to give them a vintage hardware look. But I like the way these boxes turned out and the cost was mere pennies.

Here they are on the shelf above my desk, and you can see how well they go with the little book page cubby shelf and even my burlap ruffled bulletin boards which I made to cover my ugly walls. So for a bit of effort and creativity but not alot of money, I'm getting a desk/office makeover that is making me very happy.

My next project is to repaint my chair and add a french country style burlap cushion. Watch for it!

I'll be posting at Thrifty Decor Chick's Organization blog party this week, plus the others listed on my sidebar. Come join us for some creative, inspiring fun!

So cool, Santa's Gift Shoppe has added this post to her featured posts over at her Blog Hop Party! She always has such interesting stuff going on, come on over and visit. Here's the link...
http://santasgiftshoppe.blogspot.com/2011/02/mailbox-updatemonday-blog-hop.html


What fun! I've been featured over at House of Hepworth's along with a few other really creative ladies. God check us out! Thank you, Allison, your parties are always so much fun. Here's the link. http://www.houseofhepworths.com/

Shelf Makeover with Old Book Pages

I've been admiring all the desk and office redos in blogland, so I started redoing my own "office" area with it's huge old steel desk and its big desktop. I already moved my printer to one corner and made two burlap ruffled ribbon boards for that corner, but I still had alot of room on my desk.

I found this nifty cubby shelf at a thrift store for $5 (yes!!) and although it was grubby and beat up, it's the perfect size for my desktop. I LOVE book page decoupage projects and knew just what I wanted to do with this little shelf.

I had a length of beautiful vintage wrapping paper, a bit wrinkled but still gorgeous. I just didn't have enough to do the whole shelf. So I decoupaged the back of each cubby with this pretty paper.
Then I finished the rest of the shelf with with Mod Podge and torn book pages from an old thesaurus. These pages have beautifully aged edges but were so brittle that they tore easily, so they were perfect for this project and I didn't feel bad tearing up the book!

I like it! I like it alot!

Ooh ahhh! I love the way the two types of paper look on this little cubby shelf!

Is there such thing as book page cubby shelf love? There is! This came out so well, I'm going to do one more book page project for my desk makeover. I love the way the old book pages look and I think they'd look great on a bunch of organizer boxes for my office area. That post is next! Oh, and how much is in "Ann's retirement fund"? I'll have you know that cup is half full of dimes, lol.

Joining the blog parties in my sidebar, yessirree bob. Come visit and see the neat things out in blogland. See you there!

Burlap Ruffled Bulletin Boards

Here are the finished bulletin boards...I like them alot! Read on to see where I started.

I've been seeing some gorgeous desk and office redos out in blogland and I knew I wanted to do something about my own desktop and office space but without spending any money, as usual. I have a massive steel desk with a large desktop surface, so first I moved my printer up top right next to my monitor and keyboard.

But ewww, look at those ugly walls! I definitely wanted something prettier and more practical, like a pair of bulletin/ribbon boards.

And look, another ugly picture of the project in progress. I padded two cardboard rectangles with a double layer of an old clean blanket for thickness and duct taped the whole shebang. It gets better after this, trust me.

I covered each padded form with natural osnaburg and added criss cross lace for a nice design touch. I love the subtle combo of the white lace and beige osnaburg, so pretty.

I crashed my stash of white buttons and hot glued a nice one to each lace junction. Pretty!

Then I added generous burlap ruffles to each ribbon board. LOVE the contrast of the rough, tan burlap against the lace, buttons and beige fabric!

Here is one board in place next to the printer. It already looks much better!

And here is how this corner of my desktop looks like now with both boards in place. Ah, much better! My glasses are sitting on a glass display plate stand which I've decoupaged with old book pages. The book pages make this old piece look like vintage bake lite plastic, I love it! In fact, I like the book page look so much, I decided to redo the rest of my desk space with old book pages. I'll be blogging about those projects very soon!

I'll be joining the parties on my sidebar this week, come visit and see all the wonderful creativity out in blogland!