The kids were watching the classic Snow White the other day and there’s a scene where SW is running in the forest and the beady eyes are everywhere and she freaks out but it turns out it’s just bunny rabbits.  

I share that tidbit with you only because it was the inspiration for my latest Halloween project, a framed chalkboard drawing of a forest with those glowing beady eyes that spook kids big and small.  Here it is, my latest (cheap) art idea just in time for Halloween.

This quick art project cost me nothing (well, I didn’t shop for anything new) and took less than an hour.  I found this old frame at a thrift store many months ago, it came with a nature painting that I may or may not keep, I’m undecided. Anyway, I paid $5 bucks at Goodwill and it was sitting in my garage. The rest of the supplies, (the foam board, chalkboard paint, and twinkle lights) I already had on hand. 

To make this I followed these four steps.  1. Cut a foam board to the size of your frame, then cover one side with two coats of black chalkboard spray paint.  2. Sketch then fill your chalk trees, 3. Use a small nail to determine location of glowing eyes, and 4. Insert tips of twinkle lights behind back of canvas.  Boom, you’re done.

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Greetings, I hope you had a lovely weekend!  I spent mine mostly indoors with big rainstorms hitting our area, so I had a little fun inside doing some crafting.   

I had two quarts of tinted chalkboard paint sitting in my garage, waiting for some projects I plan to get to in the near future.  I couldn’t resist the idea of ‘sampling’ the colors this past weekend making some colored chalkboard vases.  Fun fun fun!  Something about the notion of leaving sentimental or seasonal notes on glass appealed to me, so I tinkered around creating a few versions around the house.  

Every time I bring home fresh flowers, whether from the grocery store or farmer’s market, my 7 year old asks me for a single stem for her room.  Love that!  I thought it would be sweet to make a little chalkboard vase for her in a bright colored paint , one where I could write little encouraging notes or endearing sentiments. 

This bud vase was created with Rust-Oleum’s ‘Raspberry’ shade. 

And this gray label with Hudson Paint’s ‘So Stone’ tint:

This is such a fun way to personalize vases, whether for you, or for a housewarming gift, or perhaps someone recovering from illness.  These make a great gift for friends too! 

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My little boy has the teensy tiniest bedroom in our house and it doesn’t fit much more than a bed, his dresser and an armoire.  Nevertheless I’ve been wanting to find him a little play table for under the window for the longest time, but I wanted to spend very little since he will outgrow it in a few short years.    

I happened upon a little coffee table a few weeks ago, and some funky little chairs (at where else, a thrift store) and decided we could give them a little makeover so they would work in his room.  I paid $25 for all three pieces. 

Here’s the not-so-attractive set before (ew, yuck)

And here’s what a little paint, new foam and fabric turned them into:

Here’s the simple steps in their transformation. 

I stripped down the chairs as fast as possible and ceremoniously burned the fabric.  Heh heh.  No, I removed the fabric and tossed it out, yuck yuck yucky.  Then I painted the legs white and added some foam to the chairs.  

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There was a mention in House Beautiful last November about this brand new product by Hudson Paint: colored  chalkboard paint.  I was completely intrigued, but then I forgot all about it until the the other day.  Then I remembered, and I just had to order some for a special project I’m working on.  I’m just so excited so I must share with all of you what came in the mail today: this quart of ‘Deep Ocean’ Hudson chalkboard paint !

Hello gorgeous. 

Be still my heart. 

Where have you been all my life ?

It’s a little expensive compared to latex paint, $25 a quart, plus $7 shipping, but with the 24 colors available, can you imagine the possibilities ?  Entire walls of breakfast nooks, kitchens, dining rooms, kid spaces, playrooms and closet doors covered in these amazing colors.    

And talk about cool DIY crafts too – imagine the message centers and labels you could create !  Of course I’ve read you can DIY your own chalkboard paint with tile grout but some of the reviews are mixed.  You can find several ‘recipes’ online, but something about buying this smooth textured paint ready for instant use makes me so giddy. 

I plan on using my ‘Deep Ocean’ this weekend for a special project I’ve got planned for my boy’s room.  To see the full spectrum of Hudson chalkboard paint colors, look right here.  Another company, Tilano.net has a few colors available, but their chalkboard paints are more expensive.   Also I found out that Crayola has a line of colored chalkboard paint available here, again slightly more expensive. 

Yes, it’s a whole new world of paint.   Let the fun begin !  Have you ever used or made colored chalkboard paint ?  What were your results ? 

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