Love is in the air...

Today, among lots of other things, I'm working on a Valentine's Day present for the Hubby. We tend to keep it mellow for National Flower, Chocolates, and Greeting Card Day - dinner at home, little gifts, that sort of thing. And while I'm not ready to show you the finished project, and don't want to blow the surprise should he see the blog (or someone who does see it tips him off) I do want to share one of the great little thingies that I'm making it with -- a Martha Stewart Stamp-All-Over-the-Page Punch. Now, she doesn't really need any help promoting herself or her products, but I thought I'd share my experience with you on using this.


It's a brilliant concept... most punches only let you get in to the first 1 1/2" or 2" of a page, but with this it can go anywhere allowing you enormous freedom to craft. The punchy part and the hole part are magnetized so they can be taken apart, placed anywhere and then stuck back together wherever you want to punch. I first saw this on Martha's show (she was making a butterfly lamp - not my style but cute for a little girl's room or something) and was skeptical about how well the magnets would hold and how hard it would be to get the two pieces to align, but it turns out that the magnets are strong enough to find each other and match up through whatever paper you're punching.


The particular punch I'm using for my surprise project is the "Studded Heart". I've used it on regular weight paper and card stock, and some card stock that's a little bit thicker than normal. Because this punch has those little tiny "studs" it was really hard to use on the thicker card stock - the punch dented the paper somewhat - and I could easily see the posts that punch through to make the "studs" breaking of if you're working really hard to get it through the paper. The little confetti pieces left over from the holes are pretty cute too... I'm sure that you could find something fun to do with those.

Recently, MS's craft blog, the crafts dept., showed a bunch of heart-themed projects that they put together, and some that would be good year-round. I love the heart flowers on the chocolate brown box and the lattice look of the party invitation.

Images from the crafts dept.

All in all, it's a good product. I give it an A+ for concept, and a B for execution and craftsmanship (I wish it didn't dent the paper.)


(Again, I have not received any compensation whatsoever for this post, I just wanted to share my thoughts on this product with you!)

Chalkboard Decor for All Seasons

I'm the kind of gal that likes her decor to reflect the seasons and holidays, but I don't always want to look like a Hallmark store. Going all-out for Christmas is a no-brainer because I love Christmas. I also go the extra mile for fall since that's the Hubby's favorite season, but other than that I don't go too crazy. That's why I like this project.

This is a super easy project that you can probably do with things you already have. You need:

• A picture frame that matches, or works with your own decor. It can be any size you like.
• A can of chalkboard spray paint, or if you have the brush-on kind that would work too. 
• Chalk, white and/or colored

(That's a pretty simple materials list if I do say so myself.) 

The first step is to take the back off of your frame, get the picture of the fake family out of there and get to the piece of glass. Be careful here because sometimes the edges of those pieces can be sharp. 

Once you isolate it, take it to your favorite drop-cloth, piece of newspaper or lawn that's getting mowed soon (I was so excited about the project I couldn't be bothered to find drop cloth or newspaper) and lay it out so that you can paint it without worrying about the overspray getting on things that you don't want painted. (I didn't photograph any of the spray painting.)

In short, even sprays, paint one side of the glass with the chalkboard paint. Once the first coat dries, give it a second coat for good measure. Allow the paint to dry for 24 hours per the instructions on the can.

Fast-forward 24 hours... prep your chalkboard surface by rubbing the entire surface with chalk and then wiping it off. I think that this gives the surface a nice worn in look.

Then, put your glass back in the frame (make sure that the painted side is facing out), put the back of the frame back on, and voila! Instant chalkboard.

Top left: Disassembling the frame. Top right: Prepping the chalkboard surface with chalk after paint has dried. Bottom left: Putting it all back together. Bottom middle: All done! Bottom right: Get creative with your chalk.

 I chose 2 frames that fit 5" x 7" photos that had a stand allowing them to be propped up either horizontally or vertically. I loved the texture and color of the wood. Customizing these to fit a holiday or season is super easy. I made my chalkboards right before Halloween last year, so I have already incorporated them into my Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and now Valentine's Day decor.

You can see that for Christmas, I didn't write anything on them, but used them as backdrops for some wood cut snowflakes. These would even be fun with colored chalk... maybe around Easter when pastels are prevalent.

Additionally... if you have kids, or any other family member who is so inclined, it would be fun for them to draw a seasonal picture so that they can feel good about contributing to how the house looks. And if they decide they don't like it, erase and make something new.