Chalkboard Valentines

This weekend we hadn't quite worked up the energy to start mudding the landing area in the attic, but since Grady requested to "create" something, we decided to tackle his Valentines.  Lo & behold...the Valentine's Day message board!

We thought it'd be fun to make chalkboards by slicing up some logs and painting them up for Grady's friends.  No such luck.  We found the "perfect" logs at my parents' house, but after slicing one section off & letting it dry out, we realized that it just wasn't going to work.  So. Many. Cracks.  He sure had fun digging through the wood pile in below zero temps though.  Seriously...when will it warm up?!?  This polar vortex will be the death of me...brrr...grrr...brrr.

The remaining log did make a great stool for Grady to lounge on in the shop though, so it wasn't a total loss.  (How tall does he look here?!?)  He's not a little babe anymore, but he still melts my heart.  Take that polar vortex!

Back up plan...we cut out a bunch of ovals from a few cedar boards my dad had laying around.  They were the perfect size for an avant garde headpiece.  (We watch Project Runway too much.)

Or perhaps a necklace?

Grandpa sanded down the edges for us.  Nice & smooth...

Grady picked out a few "Valentiny" colors of craft paint, & we brushed them on the edges.

I painted one side with chalkboard paint, let it dry overnight, & had my handsome assistant "season" the chalkboard.  He's a pro...& a perfectionist...& loves helping me.  I love him.

Then I doodled around the chalkboard with some white craft paint...they needed some flair.  Does anyone else immediately think of Office Space when they hear that word?  :)

Ooh-la-la!

I'm obsessed with the arrows...we'll be keeping one of them!

We thought the back would be a neat place to write a little message to his friends, so we flipped them over, I left the room,  & Grady decided to surprise me by drawing some circles with a paint marker.  We collaborated with me adding some doodles to his art.  :)

Then we attached some white ribbon with thumbtacks.  Grady's friends can hang them with either side out!

The project took a lot more time than I'd normally spend on Valentines, & we probably won't do anything this elaborate again, but it was a nice way to spend a very COLD weekend indoors.

Anyone else doing fun projects indoors during this frosty winter?

Happy Valentine's Day friends!

Scrap wood art project

Grady's been home sick with a temp & cold all week.  (Another reason I'm ready for this winter to be over.)  As a parent, I feel awful when Grady isn't feeling well...but at the same time, it's kind of nice cuddling on the couch & spending quiet time together at home.  :)

We were looking for something to do to pass the time, & Grady suggested painting.  The kid LOVES to paint.  I didn't have any canvas board or nice paper, but found some old floor boards in the attic that we had just removed in order to take out an old fan & replaced with new plywood.  Use what you have!

Grady is in Easter mode, so he wanted to paint a bunny.  Correction, he wanted to paint the board, & wanted me to paint a bunny on it for him.  Here's what we came up with...the bunny was inspired by something we found on Google images.

The little artist "orange-washed" his board, then wanted to paint over it with pink, & leave a little bit of orange peeking through.  (PS, you can see the little slit of orange peeking through by the bunny's left ear - on your right.  Funny kid.)  His words, not mine.  Hehe.

After he was done with his orange & pink & white layers, I traced out a bunny & painted it with watered down craft paint.

It was looking a tad Precious Moments-y, so I tweaked the nose a bit & turned it into a rabbit nose.  I think it turned out pretty darn cute for being a collaborative piece of art by a 3 year old & a 30 year old!  The most important thing was that we had fun doing it together...

I wasn't sure at first what I wanted to paint on mine, so I started by cleaning off the surface & whitewashing it.  After a few minutes online I had found a quote from "Fantastic Mr. Fox" that I thought was cute & googled "fox illustration" to find an image to inspire me.

The quote reads: 

"We're all different.  Especially him.  But there's something kind of fantastic about that, isn't there?".

After whitewashing, I sketched out the quote & fox using my Burnt Umber colored watercolor pencil.  Back when I was doing mural painting we used these pencils all the time to sketch on the walls.  The color is perfect for blending in to almost any art, and any mistakes can just be wiped away with water!  You can find them at most art supply/craft stores.

I was trying to be imperfect & quick with this art.  I didn't want to commit too much time to it & knew that Grady's attention span wouldn't last that long anyway.  I quickly dry-brushed some color on the fox & painted the lettering with some watered down brown paint.  After I finished it was looking a little bold for my liking, so I whitewashed it again, right over what I had just painted.  I'm not sure where it'll go yet...probably in Grady's room?

I confess...I'm a copy-cat

If you're on Pinterest, or read design blogs, I'm sure you've heard of Rebekka Seale.  Among other illustrations, she does these amazingly cute house portraits that are personalized with your name, street address, quote, etc.  Here are a few of my favorites...

Although I have NO experience with watercolors, I do have a tote full of artist paints that Grady has been begging to use for a while now.  This weekend we decided to drag 'em out & I thought I'd give a Rebekka Seale style house portrait a go.  It's definitely not anywhere near her level, but for my first attempt I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

First I printed out a few of her houses that had similar characteristics as mine, along with a picture of the front of my house.  Oh, I also printed out our last name, address, & a short quote in a font I liked in case I wanted to add that to the bottom.  Then I went to Joann & bought a small pad of watercolor/acrylic paper (4x6) in their dollar section.  (Grady bought a small bird house, also from the dollar section, that he was going to paint.)

I watered down my paint & layered it on in the rough shape of our house.  I just eyeballed it & didn't sketch it out at all beforehand & I certainly didn't try to get it perfect.  My house is just a box with no crazy angles, so it was pretty simple!

After getting the base painted, I filled in the windows, door, steps, trim, etc.  I also added random lines on the roof & walls for the shingles & shake siding.

Next, I focused on the details...the mortar lines on the chimney, adding a little depth to the windows & doors, etc.  I just kept tweaking it until I was happy with the look.

I didn't have much room below the house for text, so I opted to keep in simple with "Home".

Then I painted an old garage sale frame yellow & called her complete!

Like I said before...it's certainly not perfect, or nearly as cute as Rebekka's portraits, but it does add a little cheer to the kitchen & makes me smile when I see it.  All for a couple of hours of time & less than a buck!