eWillow.com's Paper Clips - Home Decor Ideas

Chalkboard Re-Do

nospam@example.com (Charlene ) — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:35:00 -0400

It's been awhile since I posted a DIY tutorial. I have been so swamped with making cards that I had to force myself to stop for a sort time and tend to some important household duties. My daughter recently redecorated her bedroom. She went from Lily Pulitzer hot pink and lime green to a more mature color scheme of gray and dark purple. The transformation was amazing! The best and most fun part for her was taking all of the loose change that she found while she was cleaning her room and exchanging it for cold, hard cash. She was amazed when two coffee mugs full of coins garnished her nearly $60.00. She used the money to buy new decor for her room. (More on that later.)

I was excited to get my hands on the hot-pink chalkboard that she had hanging on her wall. It was just begging for some TLC. It somehow gained some gross (hard-to-cover) ink stains over the years, but they didn't stop me.

I had been wanting to use some chalkboard paint for awhile. I just so happened to have gray chalkboard paint on hand from another project that I never got around to making. It was so EASY to use the paint and so fun to up-cycle this nasty-looking pink board. Here are before and after pics:

I used Mod Podge and decorative paper to cover up the ink stains that weren't hidden by the chalkboard paint. The decorative paper also gives the chalkboard a more mature look. The photos below show how easy this project was to create.

1) Start off with the nasty-looking board. It didn't require any prep other than dusting.

2) Use chalkboard paint and a brush large enough to make wide strokes. Make sure the brush doesn't leave behind any bristles.

3) Apply a few coats of paint, waiting about an hour between coats.

4) Allow all of the coats to completely dry.

5) Cut and glue strips of decorative paper using Mod Podge.

Yes, it really was THAT easy.

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More room projects coming up next week, including up-cycling a bulletin board and making a hanging decoration for the ceiling fan chain. Stay tuned.

How I Saved Seven Hundred & Fifty Grand by Spending a Hundred Bucks

nospam@example.com (Charlene ) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:27:05 -0400

To move or not to move has been our question for a long time now. Boy, I could really use a separate room for all things eWillow.com related. We are minus one bird now that Adrienne is off to college; however, I just can't bring myself to turn her nest into a craft room. Where will she chill when she comes home?

I love where I work now because even though it is out-of-the-way, it is still part of where my family chills. I'm in a different room, but we have an open floor plan as far as the living and family rooms go, so we always feel like we are together. (I have this weird hang-up about being in a different room when my husband and kids are home with me. I like it when we are all together. It is some type of innate motherly feeling or something. Some people tell me I'm weird. Oh, well!)

I digress...

Back to the reason why we are here. My work room is very CLUTTERED. That is just how I roll when I'm making stuff. The clutter has caused me such anxiety that I am ashamed to have company! Funny thing is, you really don't see the clutter unless you are standing in a certain place in our house. A few years ago, I tried to hide the clutter by doing this:

It worked really well for awhile. However, this photo was taken back at the beginning of 2008, which was nearly a year before the idea for eWillow.com was even conceived. Oh, how the clutter has grown since then!

A few weeks ago, we made our first-ever trip to IKEA. I was totally inspired when I saw a set of curtains. My mind immediately conjured up the idea to hang curtains from the ceiling and make my office a separate room that can be hidden when needed, but open when I'm working. And that is how we saved $750,000 on a new house by spending $100 at IKEA and Home Depot.

Let's take a look:

Our first challenge was making the curtains long enough. We have ten-foot ceilings, and I wanted the curtains to dust the floor, but I didn't want them to hang directly from the high ceiling. Solution: long planter hooks from Home Depot. (I think they are 15" long.) By laying the curtain rod onto the planter hooks, the curtains now almost touch the floor and they hang far enough down from the ceiling that I don't feel claustrophobic. These picture makes me smile because this is the first big project that my husband was able to tackle after his cancer/chemo complications.

Continue reading "How I Saved Seven Hundred & Fifty Grand by Spending a Hundred Bucks"

From Happy Meal Toy to Christmas Tree Ornament Tutorial

nospam@example.com (Charlene ) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:42:00 -0500

I have always wanted a "Wizard of Oz" Christmas tree. (It seems fitting, since I have Wizard of Oz bank checks, a Wizard of Oz wrist watch, a Dorothy key chain, a ruby slipper pillow, the Wizard of Oz Barbie collection, the Wizard of Oz trivia game....you get the idea.)

(Go HERE to vote for this project in the "So You Think You're Crafty All-Star" competition.)

Continue reading "From Happy Meal Toy to Christmas Tree Ornament Tutorial"