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DIY: Framed Frenchy Chalkboard

Once upon a time I scored a gorgeous mirror to hang above the table in my entryway. I lovingly painted and antiqued the frame. Then I hung it in it's new home with great pride. Thirty minutes later, my gorgeous mirror came crashing down the the ground and shattered into a million pieces.

I may or may not have cried like a little girl.

After I picked up the pieces of my poor mirror, I realized that while the frame was broken, it just might be salvageable. So I stored it away in my garage until inspiration struck.

A few months later, inspiration struck, and her name was Miss Mustard Seed.



This is her beauty of a chalkboard. I loved it. I wanted, no, NEEDED, it in my home. So I put my thinking cap on and came up with a plan.

I headed to Home Depot and bought a sheet of 1/4 inch think MDF, some black chalkboard paint and some grey primer. Several days of priming and painting later and this is what I've got:



Isn't she lovely? Nevermind my chicken-scratch. I have the worst handwriting in the world.



I love the details on the corners and sides of the frame.


I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And I'm very glad I was able to create something pretty out of my gorgeous broken mirror.

Little Things

Hi there! I'm sorry I've been a bit absent lately. I feel like my days are getting away from me. Where does the time go and why is it moving so fast lately?

Anyhoo, I haven't started on many house projects in the recent weeks because I have been busy trying to jump-start my photography business. It is going to be a long process but I am so very excited about delving further into my love of photography! So lately when I take a trip to the antique store or thrift store, I'm keeping my eyes open for props I can use in my shoots. Like these:


Aren't those wooden toys just precious? And who doesn't love Classic Pooh? The shabby chair was a great deal and I can't wait to use it in a shoot!




Oh, and I picked up this AMAZING vintage kitchen scale and my local antique store. Isn't it gorgeous? I've been dying to get my hands on one of these for a while now and they're either overpriced or not too pretty. This one was perfect!

Other than shopping for photography props and equipment, I'm trying to decorate my house for this awkward time of year. Is it just me, or does the few months of winter after Christmas seem to be weird to decorate for? It's winter, but it's not Christmas and I have to fight the urge to bust out the Spring decor. Hmmm...



One thing I have managed to accomplish is making a cute little ruffle runner for my front entryway table. Using a strip of dropcloth fabric and leftover linen strips from my ruffle Christmas skirt, this little project was super easy and I love the way it looks.

Hopefully, I can start getting back to my loooong list of house projects soon. Stay tuned!

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Goals for 2012

Holy Moses. Does anyone else feel like the holidays always sneak up on you then chew you up and spit you out? I'm exhausted!

Lobster and I had a fabulous, albeit BUSY, Christmas and New Years. We traveled all over the great state of Texas and are SO very happy to finally be back home with absolutely no plans to go anywhere for at least the next month or two. Maybe I can finally get to some big projects I've been dying to start!

Of course, my "To Do" list is always a mile long, so I think it's important that I set some goals for the year for myself. These are the projects I MUST accomplish before the ball drops again:



Paint my kitchen cabinets! Isn't this kitchen gorgeous? It's one of my inspirations for how I want my kitchen to look (well, as close to it as possible!). I have been agonizing over this project since we moved into the house a year and a half ago. First, Lobster said no to my request to paint said cabinets but I have since bent him to my will convinced him how nice white cabinets would look. Then I just plain ran out of time. It will be a loooong project so I think now is a good time to start before spring comes and I get distracted by pretty weather and gardening.



Repaint my guest bathroom. I'm thinking a charcoal gray like the bath pictured above. The paint color in that room is an "oops" color anyway so I'll be happy when it's gone.



Reupholster a couple of small side chairs that resemble this one. This project won't be too difficult but I keep putting it off for whatever reason. Laziness, perhaps? Nah.



Create a chalkboard with an old antique frame. I've already got the frame, just need to create the chalkboard part.



Paint my trumeau mirror that kinda sorta looks like this one, but ugly. This means I'm FINALLY going to order some chalk paint and see what all the hubub is about.



Frame out our builder-grade mirrors like this one at House of Smith's.

I think I'll stop there for now or I'll get overwhelmed! It's a pretty good start for the year, I think. What projects do you want to tackle this year?