DIY Chalkboard Art Display Tutorial

We’re only a couple weeks into the school year, and Kendall’s pre-k artwork is already starting to pile up. So, today I made myself finish a project I’ve been envisioning for a long while.

It was silly easy to make, and I used some items we already had, like scrap wood leftover from our sub-floor install and a half-full can of chalkboard paint.

The full list of what you’ll need is:

Wood (Dimensions are up to you. Try to re-use or upcycle some!)
Chalkboard paint & painting supplies (cheap foam brush and an old sheet should work)
Binder clips (I got ours at Office Depot where they have quite a few bright, fun colors. Get enough to put one clip every 6 inches on the length of the board(s) you’re cutting.)
Gorilla Glue Fast Cure (Got ours at Lowes)
Yardstick
Black Sharpie 
Chalk 

1. Paint your piece of wood with the chalkboard paint. It will probably take 2 -3 thin coats, depending on if you primed or not.

2. Let the board dry, then lay out your supplies and grab a wet (but not soaking) rag. Per the Gorilla Glue instructions, you’ll have to use this to dampen the board and the back of the binder clip before applying the glue and adhering.

3. Using the yardstick as your guide, place your binder clips every 6 inches (meaning you line the left side of each clip up on the inch marker that is 6 inches from the left side of the last clip).

Note: I started 2 inches in and my last clip is 2 inches from the edge. The 6 inch distance between them allows you to hang one piece of paper vertically with just one or horizontally with 2. Play around and get them exactly how you want them.

4. Follow the directions on the Gorilla Glue to adhere the binder clips where you placed them. Keep using the yardstick as your guide so you can keep them all level.

5. You’ll see the directions of the Gorilla Glue tell you to clamp them down, but I couldn’t really figure out how to do this. Instead, I just took my time and held down each one for about 3-4 minutes before moving on to the next.

6. Be sure you don’t apply too much glue. It really only takes a little applied to the back (especially the raised surfaces) of the binder clip. The glue expands like a foam and dries white. If after it dries you find that the glue around the edges is noticeable, go back and color over it with a black Sharpie. Much easier and less messy than painting over it, and nobody’s going to be able to tell from a distance. I also used the Sharpie to color over the screw heads that we used to drill it into the wall.

7. Hang it up and then get creative with what you want to write on it. For now, both of these boards are for “Kendall’s Creations,” but as Leyna gets older and starts coloring, I’ll probably designate one board for each kid. The best part is all I have to do is wipe off the chalk and re-name it! I’m even thinking of changing it up and writing this quote on them:

Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them. – Richard L. Evans

Photobucket

A 1/2 day in the life of us

I realize my blog isn’t your typical baby/mommy blog. I’m terrible about documenting significant and even the small, day to day things on here. I’m more likely to be inspired to blog when something embarrassing/hilarious happens, or when I’m really passionate about a topic… or after I’ve had a drink or two. I read blogs like Becoming Sarah, and I’m envious of the beautiful story it tells through all the small, simple details, the big picture it paints.

Not that I’m going to go switching up my blogging approach, but I figured I’d do a little day in the life post for you all while Kendall naps today, give you a little peek into our day to day life, which is, unfortunately, pretty mundane, but we always seem to find the humor even in the mundane around here. This house is full of laughter (also full of screams and NOs and dogs barking… we are a very loud family, I think we scare some people).

We signed up for 24 Hour Fitness yesterday after nearly 2 years without a gym membership. The biggest selling feature for me was not the hundreds of cardio machines, complete with Ipod compatible TV screens, nor the classes or the indoor and outdoor pools. No. I was 100% sold on the 2 hours of childcare a day. Sure, I have to stay at the gym, but I don’t have to actually work out. I can drop my kid off and go sit in the jacuzzi or lounge by the pool for 2 hours if I want! I can’t even being to explain what this will do for the level of my sanity the weeks Scott is travelling for work.

My sister said, “I have a feeling you’re going to be REALLY in shape because of this.” That, or I’m going to have a killer tan sunburn. And I’m not the only one benefiting. I know for a fact Kendall would much rather hang out in the Kids Club with it’s giant tunnel slides and buckets of crayons, then hanging with me for those 2 hours.

We got up and dressed this morning, excited to head over for our first visit, only for me to realize as we  headed to the door that I left my wallet/ID/gym pass in Scott’s car yesterday. Ugh. Isn’t that just the way it always freaking is?

While I called Scott and waited for him to confirm that he, indeed, was in possession of my wallet and I hadn’t left it in a grocery cart for the 20th time, Kendall occupied himself with his nifty chalkboard cabinet in the kitchen. I keep meaning to show this off to you all. Not that it’s super inventive, or anything. I just took down the cabinet doors one day, taped off the insides and painted a few coats of magnetic primer and chalkboard paint on top. The magnetic primer was SO not worth the money and effort. I think I painted 4 coats of it, and it still barely holds a thin magnet. The chalkboard part is awesome, though. That and the contents of his very own cabinet keep him entertained at least a good 10 or 15 minutes a day.

It’s also really helpful on rainy and cold days when he wants to play with his “cock ass”, which translates to “chalk outside”.

Seeing as how we were already dressed, me in my running clothes, and it’s a damn near Spring-like day here today, I figured we’d run up to the park. Nothing like a trip with a ballsy toddler to a giant, metal structure with several open landings  3-5 feet off the ground, all spaced at equally awkward and hard to get to angles to get your blood pumping. I spent most of my time internally conflicted as to what was the safest thing for me to do – stand on the ground and run around the play structure like a Labrador anticipating a flying tennis ball, or follow his every move and possibly get stuck in a narrow tunnel. Despite my very valiant attempts to keep him from hurting himself, and calmly and repeatedly asking him to go “feet first” down the slides, he still left the playground looking like this.

Boy, n.:  A noise with dirt on it.

Since we were already both covered in mud, I figured we’d go ahead and plant the “wowers” we got at Lowes yesterday. I only bought these things because they came with instructions, everything but water and a guarantee.

Except they didn’t say that the bulb was actually hidden in the big bag of dirt and that it would look EXACTLY like a giant clump of dirt. I was thisclose to packing the whole thing up and telling the folks at Lowes they sold me an incomplete kit. Really, pictures could have helped. Also, the above picture doesn’t really show off just how black my thumb is.

Per the instructions, which I followed to a tee, we put all the dirt and the bulb back in the provided pot. Kendall enjoyed helping with that part, but I could tell he was really confused by how none of this looked like a “wower” yet.

Then, following the instructions precisely again, we “watered well”. It was at this point I was beginning to think we put too much dirt back in, but the instructions didn’t say to leave any out! I’m taking this whole “guarantee” pretty seriously.

A mid-day bath was a necessity today, and a nice, unexpected treat for Kendall. We followed that up with some yummy black bean quesadillas for lunch, an episode of Dora, 4 books, a battle of the wills, and, finally, a nap in the “big boy” bed, which obviously doesn’t contain him or keep him from tearing down his changing pad or bringing his piggy bank to bed after I close the door.

2 changes of clothes and 1/2 of the day down.

Kendall is 22 months and .5 days old

Photobucket