DIY Chalkboard

I am always looking out for FUN ways to teach my kid to write, read, draw, anything and everything. One of the things I distinctly remember is using a small chalk board as a kid. I used to love drawing on it and I think I 1st started learning to write on it. I have seen this chalboard paint in the stores which I always wanted to try. So I decided to MAKE a Chalkboard instead.

My Supplies:

1. Chalkboard Paint .(I used a spray kinds, easier to use.)
2. One Picture frame any size you like. Mine is 26" x 20". (I bought a clearance piece from an Art Supply store without the glass in it but if you find one with the glass in it that works as well.
3. Plywood or ACM (I used a piece of Aluminium Composite Metal) or the Glass the picture frame came with. (I would avoid using glass for a chalkboard for kids.
4. Bunch of carpenters Nails.

Painting the board:-

• I followed the instructions on the spray can  (very carefully). It is important to shake the can well before painting the plywood or ACM or glass.
• If you choose a Plywood as the board, then you need to sand it 1st with a fine grit sandpaper and make sure you sand along the grain.
• If you are using Metal piece or Glass then you can spray right after you clean it with a wipe or cloth.
• Then I sprayed the paint on the board. Once horizontaly then vertically covering the entire surface.
• I left it to Dry and then sprayed another coat. (If you feel the need then you can spray the paint 1 more time on the plywood)

P.S.- I prefered to paint in an open area because of fumes and wanted to stay away from my kid. Please read the safety instructions before you paint.

• Then I inserted the painted ACM inside the frame and secured it with carpenters nails.

ALL DONE!!! :-)

It was easier than I expected. My daughter spend hours drawing and writing on it. And I love watching her play with it.

In case you would like to buy a Chalkboard instead, here are some that I would recommend click here, here and here.

Fabulous Find

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all."

— Jacqueline Kennedy

I have to share this fantastic book that I recently found in costco. 

"Bee n Me" is a charming story of a young boy who is scared of bees, full of movable pictures (through polarization) (in publishing world it is called "Ani-motion" technology). My daughter loves this book. The ani-motion is awesome and really keeps her attention while we are reading it. The story is very cute and educational and there is a list of bee facts in the back. 

I like the word indolence.....

I like the word "indolence". It makes my laziness seem classy... Bern Williams

I know.. I know.. I have been pretty lazy last few days (ok! ok! weeks...). And I have tons of excuses for not writing regularly.. like we moved into a new place, been unpacking, organizing, my demanding kid etc etc.

Even my friends have started asking 'When will we get the RSS feed of your new blog post?' or 'What is the new project you are working on?'.  Reality is I haven't touched my crafting supplied for over a month now. In fact they are still packed in boxes stored in the new computer/craft room. The new netflix account is not helping much either. So today I decided to write and break the block. 

All I need now is a good topic, but somehow searching for a topic to write about is very difficult in this state of laziness. Although I do have some projects that I worked on earlier that I never got around sharing with you. One being the exhibition where I displayed my handmade clips at.

A couple months ago a friend suggested that I should participate in a buyers exhibition called Americasmart. It sounded like a good idea to see the business side of crafting and design. I accompanied her in her stall for a day. My first reaction when I entered the ginormous exhibition space extensively packed with exhibitors and buyers was of shock and fear. I felt lost looking at all these people who knew what they are doing in that popular exhibition that I had never even heard of. I was standing there with a boxful of my creations mocking myself for being so clueless. I displayed my hand made designs on a small table which felt like a pebble in the pond.

It all started with me trying to make a few clips for my daughter. I was enjoying the process so much that I kept making more and more and more. I designed several templates on my computer and began making these goodies. Trying to find color combinations to go with the cute outfits of my daughter. I made a small bib style necklace for her (can't give her the beaded necklaces, choking hazard) and several other clips. Then I displayed them at the exhibition hall scared that no one will notice them. But to my surprise most people were supportive, they were trying to motivate me and navigate me in the right direction. I got a few inquiries too which made me ecstatic (they couldn't materialize though, as I am not ready to handle big orders yet).

In the future I am tempted to try a bigger stall in another exhibition with more designs and products. For now my creations are for my little princess and are for the baby girls in our family and friends. 

Wedding Bouquet

One of my collegues is getting maried to his High School sweetheart this week. This is his second marriage and his fiances 3rd one. To keep it simple (and romantic, I guess) they are going to have a small ceremony at Gatlinburg (Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee). I hear it is the 2nd most popular place to get married after Vegas. Is it??

What wedding ceremony is complete without flowers right. So here is my gift for their new beginning.

Wedding Bouquet with white and blue paper flowers matching brides beautiful gown.

Matching boutonnière for the Groom.

And a handmade card for the new couple.

I wish them the best for this new chapter in their lives. All the best Mrs & Mr. Dodson.

P.S.-I know I have to give a lot of updates about what I have been up to. Including a cardmaking class-event a friend hosted (was so much fun and I learned a lot). Will be writing soon on that.

P.S. (2)- I found a great tutorial on making paper flower bouquet (its not how I make Paper flowers, but it is damn neat and easy). For the tutorial check here.

Thanks a lot for reading and for writing such wonderful comments.

Paper Masks

I was looking around for Animal shaped paper masks and see what i found...

Amy Flurry and Nikki Salk are two artists based in Atlanta that create some fantastic pieces of paper craft art.

As GA City Style quotes about them -All of these outlandishly perfect creations are made of paper but look like they would make it through a serious day of adventure. They are “fueled by a love of fashion and an appreciation of the grace and nuance of this humble material.”

Aren’t these gorgeous?? I love the style, creativity and the layering of paper. Check out their website, more designs and illustrations here.

Color Therapy..

A few weeks back we had to take a personality test in the office. The purpose of it was to understand each others personalities so that we all can work better as a team. Try to see the potential of people and to ignore the obvious negative personality traits in each other. Did it work? Yes to my surprise it is working. I wish we could do the same thing in our day to day lives with family and friends too. Try and forgive each other for the fall outs and admire them for the efforts they make.

In my painting I wanted to express people with different personalities. Some vibrant, assertive, energetic, some soothing, sympathetic, some deep and intuitive, others happy and radiant.

Our life is just like this painting an organized chaos of color, a family of different personalities that come together to complete the picture. Each individual with its own story, own likes, dislikes, positives and negatives. Some compliment each other some stand alone. But we need every one of those colors to make it a spectrum, to make life more FUN.

This is my Color Therapy.

P.S.- I am a big fan of recycling and this is my recycled art. Painted on a reclaimed piece of MDF from my office workshop (which normlly gets tossed in the dumpster).

WALL DECALS

I want to decorate my daughters room and so started looking out for some easy solutions for wall art. Some of my friends have murals made on the walls in their kids rooms. Murals look great but I want something that is easy to use and is removable (painting on walls is not allowed in my apartment complex). 
Came across these great products that i wanted to share. Wall Decals.

Wall TAT-"Wall Decals are fun, easy to install and compared to other wall finishing and wall decor alternative. Talk about getting maximum visual impact in a very cost effective manner. The best part of all is that you can install them yourself."

Wall Decals are not only cost effective and easy to install, they can be installed on any surface (walls, glass, floors, ceilings, furniture, cars etc.). These are removable too, so changing them for a new decor is easy.

Also saw these great removable chalkboard wall stickers (Chalk-Decals) by For Walls.

"Inspire the artist within by adding an outlet for creative talents on a patterned chalkboard – perfect for adding a little vitality to your home or inspiring your kids writing skills on walls, drawing tables and more. "-for walls.

My Quotable Kid

When kids start talking (even jiberish), don't we all feel that they sound super cute and want to remember them later? Don't we all want to save those words, those pronunciations somehow?

When Saanvi started talking I would write them down sometimes or make a small video clip, but most of the times I didn't. But I do want to remember them later. I stumbled upon this cool book called The Quotable Kid.

Love the idea.

I am making a scrapbook for Saanvi, so i decided to make a scrapbook page of what she keeps saying these days. Like Moi, Moi (to call me) or Bi Bi Papa, C U tomorow and Wiwi (Kiwi) etc.

Organizing my creative space.

My husband has been complaining about my crafting supplies taking over our house. And it is true. Over the years I have collected so many things for crafts and scrapbooks that it is becoming difficult to store them. I want everything displayed so that I can see what I have and get to them quickly. One of the things I had hardest time to organize was Ribbons. I have been searching for a good storage system for all my Ribbons, but most of them are too expensive. So I decided to make one. A box that will not only store my ribbon collection, but will display them and will make it easier for me to use them.

The company I work for also has  manufacturing of Aluminium Composite Metal Panels. They were kind enough to let me use some of the scrap material and the CNC machine and helped me fabricate my Ribbon Box. Thank you so much Altech.

I love the metallic blue ribbon box (this was my final design, till now). Red one was an experimental piece. I have one more blue colored one, cut and ready to be fabricated in the shop. I may use that for a special giveaway some time soon.

The display of colorful ribbons inspires me to come out of my color-comfort zone and try new combinations too. Love it...

Creative Lunch

With a picky eater at home (my daughter), I always wonder what I will do to make her eat when she goes to school.. If she is anything like me she won't want to eat the packed boring lunches.. Then I saw Funky Lunch website... I am sooo in love with these... What awesome ideas..

My favourite sandwich:

And this rainbow lunch {I have to be loyal to my color obsession :-)...}

And it's healthy too.. To see "whats in the lunch bo" click here..
Cant decide whether I would want to eat these or just look at them...