Custom Architectural Portrait Giveaway

Giveaway is now closed...the winner is Teresa Cox. Thank you to all who participated!

Hello sweet readers! I have teamed up with some awesome bloggers to offer a giveaway for a

Custom Architectural Portrait by Sketchy Styles

To enter this one of a kind giveaway just click on the rafflecopter in this post and follow the steps!

The giveaway runs from 8am EST on July 10th and ends at 11pm EST on July 17th. The winner will be announced on July 18th.

Your chances of winning increase with each entry you make! Good Luck!!!

** This offer is open to US and Canadian Residents

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Easy Chalkboard Lettering Tutorial

Hello friends! I feel like it has been so long since I sat down and wrote a blog post. I hope you all had a great 4th of July! I had a wonderful week with my family. We took a much needed vacation to Wisconsin and stayed in the cutest lake town. I hope to show you some pictures soon of my little vacation. I did  want to share a little tutorial with you today on how to transfer any type of font onto a chalkboard. 

Way back in 2010 I bought this frame from Goodwill! I painted the back of the picture with chalkboard paint and flipped it around to the front of the frame. I have been using it to decorate for all of the different seasons and it usually stays on top of the fireplace mantel.

I really love chalkboards, but I have always had a love/hate relationship with mine because of my handwriting. You would never guess this from the girl who got the handwriting award two years in a row in elementary school. Hee hee! Anyway, you wouldn't think writing on a chalkboard would be any different. Well maybe for some people it's not different but for this girl it is!

I have really been trying to think of a way to make the lettering on the chalkboards look better. I just could not do another post with my crappy writing so in the words of Oprah I had an "Ah Ha" moment. Let's go back in time (ok not too far back) let's say a few months ago. Do you remember my library book wall tutorial? Well, I decided to use the same method on my chalkboard. 

The first thing I did was print out my saying for my chalkboard and laid it out on the chalkboard.I used the same font that I used in my Neverland sign from my book wall. I just love this saying "It is Well with My Soul". Here is a little history on the saying if you are interested in where it came from, it is actually a lyric to a hymn. 

After I had my words laid out on my chalkboard and marked where they were going I flipped over the paper and started rubbing the chalk on the back.

I then flipped the paper back over (words facing you) and placed it on the chalkboard. I then took a pencil and started tracing the letters onto the chalkboard. You might have to go over the letters a few times to make the chalk transfer.

(I apologize for the quality of this picture, I am a mom who has to craft after the babe is in bed)

After I had the letters traced I then started filling the letters in with chalk. A good tip is to sharpen your chalk, it will make your life so much easier.

Here is the final results. I think it turned out fairly well! The perfectionist in me wanted to go back and fix a bazillion things, but I then thought to myself I think chalk looks better with a little imperfection.

Please come back and visit me tomorrow for an awesome giveaway!

You can find me on... Facebook, Pinterest &  Instagram if you would like to follow more of my projects.

 
I am linking to:
Little Miss Celebration
Debbie Doos: Pinterest Blitz

Summer Mantel

Wow, I cannot believe it will soon be July 4th! This summer and year is going by way too fast. So before summer gets away from me I wanted to show you my summer mantel.  I will have to show you how I transferred the font onto the chalkboard in a later post. 

This saying on the chalkboard is one of my favorite "new" to me sayings. It reminds me of the ocean for some reason. It's calm and relaxing!

I found this bucket in the dollar section at Target. I put shells in the bucket to pull it into the rest of the decor.

I found these glass candlesticks at a thrift store years ago and bought candles at the Dollar Tree. I added some twine and burlap to the outside of the candles.

I bought this starfish in South Carolina last year while we were on vacation. I tied some sisal rope to the middle and used a tack to attach it to the top of the chalkboard frame.

I think these coke bottles are my favorite! I also bought them at a thrift store. I think they remind me of sea glass. 

This seashell is very special to me. I had an aunt that lived in Florida that passed away a few years ago. Back when I was still in Junior High we drove down to see her. She had collected these big shells throughout the years and had them displayed in her flower beds. She told my sister, cousin and myself to pick a shell out to take home with us. I picked this shell it was the only shell like this and wasn't like the other shells. She told me it was a very rare and a hard to find shell. So every time I look at this shell I am reminded of the story my aunt told me and feel very honored that she let me have it!  

I found this green glass float at Goodwill. I love the color! 

I hope you all have a great 4th of July! I will be spending mine with my little family.


You can find me on...Facebook, Pinterest &  Instagram if you would like to follow more of my projects.
 
I am linking to:
Debbie Doos: Pinterest Blitz
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Solar Light Basket

Happy Summer sweet readers! I don't know why but summer has just been so much better this year. I think it has something to do with my silly two year old and her love for discovering new things. We have been spending as much time outside as possible. One of the things that I have really been working on getting completed is our little patio all spruced up.  I have about a bazillion things left to do with it, but I wanted to share one of my projects that I did from this past weekend.

Remember my Mason jar solar lights? Well, I had a few solar lights left over from the Dollar Tree that I wanted to use . Of course, I tried to use them in the cheapest way possible. I bet you can't guess where I bought these baskets? I know I am so predictable, but I love my Dollar Tree!

I thought the baskets had the perfect shape to be hung like a pendant or they were just cute sitting!

The first thing I did was spray paint them.I used the colors Fern by Rustoleum  for the stripe in the middle and Ivory by Krylon for the rest of the basket. I have found it easier to paint a whole object the color of the stripe and then go back and apply the color that will be the main color. I just used painter's tape to cover up the green to make the stripe.

After my baskets were done drying I was then ready to add the solar light. I just wanted the light and not the stakes so I  un-screwed the top of the solar light off  the stake and measured the solar panel  (the black square) so I knew where I would be cutting the hole.  

I used chalk to mark where I would be cutting the hole. The hardest part about making the hole was trying to get it started. I had to cut a few of the weaves in the basket and then I was able to work my way around to make a square.

I then took some gorilla glue and glued the top part of the solar under the hole I just cut.

The cut hole looked a little jagged so I hot glued some clothes line that I bought at the Dollar Tree around the square. I then added a little loop to make the basket hang.

I have a basket sitting on my patio and one on a shepherd's hook. I think these would also be great to use when camping or fun to hang from a porch. Not too bad for a few dollars!



Thanks for stopping by! 

You can find me on...Facebook, Pinterest &  Instagram if you would like to follow more of my projects.
 
I am linking to:
Little Miss Celebration
Debbie Doos: Pinterest Blitz

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What I Wore Wednesday

Hello and welcome back to another edition of what I wore Wednesday. I hope you are all having a good week and are having beautiful weather like we are having here. It's been nice to be able to also get some outdoor projects marked off of my list.


Here is what I wore:

Shirt: Old Navy

Skirt: Wal-Mart

Sandals: Kohls

Necklace: Very Jane
(This is an affiliate of mine)

I am linking to:

The Pleated Poppy