Jul 4, 2012

Happy 4th!!

I finally found time to do a little project around here. A few weeks ago I found this wonderful wood tray on a trip to Goodwill.


My first thought was to make it into a chalkboard. I was in love with distressed wood finish and the scalloped edges; not so much with the little embellishments it had on it.


 
I'm pretty sure that's Holly Hobby up there in the left hand corner. Nothing against Holly Hobby; I had her lunch box all through elementary school. I was kind of looking for something a little less stuck in the 70s; just sayin'.

My first thought was to just do a chalkboard center, and leave the lovely wood grain on the edges. When I bought it, I thought this would be a simple task. After all, I already had the chalkboard paint.

Once I started into the project though, reality struck. I'm not a freehand painter - at all. I didn't think I could realistically tape off a perfect circle either, in order to apply the paint. You'll find if you read this blog with any regularity, that I lack faith in my own skills. It's a weakness and it's why I subtitled my blog the way I did. Making mistakes...but learning to love them.

Ah-hem.

Anywho...after some digging, I found out that they actually make a chalkboard contact paper. Eureka! I'd just get that, trace the shape and ba-bam - done!

I didn't want to just start out cutting into the vinyl. That stuff isn't cheap, even with the 40% off coupon from the HobLob. So, I improvised with what I had on hand. Parchment paper.


First, I traced the tray onto the parchment, cut it out and then used that to trace onto the vinyl. Working with a roll of vinyl isn't easy, so use whatever you have on hand to hold the roll open while you trace. You know, like The Hunger Games trilogy in a box set...

Once you have the desired shape, it's just a matter of cutting it out and placing it properly. Oh, and to ensure a good seal, using a clorox wipe to wipe off about 20 some odd years of wood polish...can you say yellow? ewww.


I won't lie to you, the contact paper isn't easy to work with. After pulling it up and reapplying it twice, I nearly gave up and just went with the paint on the entire thing. It isn't perfect, and something else I didn't really think about was that I should have sanded the surface instead of just wiping it down. The little girlies on the front still sort of shine through with little ripples in the vinyl. grr.

What I should do is take the vinyl off, sand the thing smooth and do it right. But, I'm lazy -something else you'll discover if you read this blog with any regularity. Short cuts are my speciality!

I think it turned out cute for about 45 minutes of work and $7 in materials.

Cheap and fast er, um, Inexpensive and delightfully simple!



I think it turned out okay. Maybe someday I'll do it the right way, but I probably won't. It's possible nobody else will notice, and you won't tell, right?



1 comment:

  1. I love this idea!! I am a chalkboard nut. I have not used the contact paper before and you had a great idea for the template. I will be trying this one in the future.....I had a Holly Hobby doll...love that thing..blessings

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