Pages

Friday, April 29, 2011

Chalk it Up!

What do you get when you combine muslin, chalkboard paint and embroidery hoops?

Why little round chalkboards of course!

These fun little creations have found a home in the boys' bathroom. 

I originally was going to do a "family rules" chart with lovely tidbits of advice like-- brush your teeth, wash your hands, hug your mom... but since they're pre-readers (early readers, at best), I thought it'd be better to keep it simple and use pictures.  I was going to a make a big chalkboard canvas, but I like the versatility and the shape of the embroidery hoops better.


Close-up of the "chalkboards" and my lovely artwork :)
{Here's a mini tutorial}

i'll be adding the photos soon. we're upgrading to FIOS on Saturday (at least i HOPE it's an upgrade) but since Verizon is inept and turned off our phone yesterday & our satellite service was just turned off this afternoon... i didn't even have a chance to watch the royal wedding-- boo verizon!!  anyhow, i want to get out this post before our internet connectivity is turned off too!

I simply cut out inexpensive muslin to fit the embroidery ring, leaving a 1 inch border. 

I taped down the muslin to the inside ring with a little masking tape... then painted on chalkboard paint.

I let the chalkboard paint dry completely, then drew on the design with a soapstone marking pencil.  I stumbled upon the soapstone pencil when I couldn't find a white piece of chalk.  It cleans up easily (just wet and wipe-off) and it's so much easier to draw with a pencil rather than a short stubby piece of chalk.

I painted the outside ring white then put the embroidery ring back together.  That's it!



So I'll be back later after we're upgraded to FIOS... hopefully by Sunday.  Verizon has been a miserable disappointment, so my expectations are lower than low.  We may need to go back to dial-up, "rabbit-ears" and smoke signals.  ;)  Wish us luck!



linked to: