Do you love chalkboard art? Get the chalkboard art tips you need to make beautiful chalkboards for your home – the easy way! Plus get a free design perfect for those cozy winter nights and drinking hot cocoa. Snuggle up with some fun and fabulous winter decor. #ad #ChalkboardArt #Winter
When the weather outside is cold, it is the perfect time to snuggle up and get cozy. We love to use our White Winter Ceramic Mugs that look like cable knit sweaters and enjoy some hot cocoa. We snuggle up in the den and turn on one of our favorite shows or movie. The den is all decked out in Buffalo Plaid winter decor.
One of the items I picked up from Oriental Trading was this super cute Buffalo Plaid Chalkboard. I absolutely LOVE chalk art (check out my Sidewalk Chalk Art). So, I couldn’t resist this board and creating a fun design. There are a few tips and tricks I want to share with you on how you can make your own chalk art design and transfer it easily to your own chalkboard. You won’t believe how easy it is!
I wanted to celebrate cozy winter nights with a chalkboard design that featured the hot cocoa we enjoy. So, I drew a steaming mug to compliment the saying, “Warm Mugs of Hot Cocoa Served All Winter Long.” I am thrilled with how it turned out.
Get the Chalkboard Art Tips
Create your design
Create your design. Use fancy fonts, choose or draw graphics.
Put them all together how you want them in a word document, photo program, or whatever you like to use.
Make your design the size you need for your chalkboard.
Print a black and white copy of your design.
Transfer your design to the Chalkboard
Use the side of a piece of chalk to chalk the back side of your design paper. Be sure to cover every bit of your design area.
Place the chalked side of paper against your chalkboard and lightly tape it into place. This just keeps the pattern still and in the proper position.
Trace over your design to transfer it to the chalkboard.
Remove the tape and pattern.
Use Chalk Markers to draw your design onto the chalkboard. Follow your pattern, it is easy peasy!
Once finished, let your chalk marker DRY thoroughly.
After the chalk marker is completely dry, you can dust off the remaining chalk dust and have a perfect chalkboard decor.
FREE Printable Design Pattern
Warm Mugs of Hot Cocoa Served All Winter Long
Download HERE — prints on a legal size paper (11 inch x 14 inch)
At the busy holiday season, it’s nice to have some simple elegance. I’m sharing how to put together a gorgeous and easy Thanksgiving tablescape with the help of Oriental Trading Company who provided some of the items for my table decor. AD #ThanksgivingTablescape
Thanksgiving Tablescape Simple Elegance
Helping to make the busy holidays easy and beautiful
There is no escape. You can’t turn back now. The holidays are upon us. So, let Oriental Trading help you make this busy season simple and elegant, fun and easy, or whatever sparks your fancy. There is something for every decor style, craft idea, or DIY project.
This year, my Thanksgiving tablescape style is simple elegance with a rustic touch. Autumn is such a lovely season full of fall colors, delicious flavors, cozy moments, and family memories. Let’s celebrate!
The first thing I did was gather my supplies:
Ceramic White Pumpkin
1 – Wood Large Round Centerpiece (wood slice)
1 – Wood Medium Round Centerpiece (wood slice)
Silk Fall Leaves
Fall Burlap Pumpkins
2 – Battery-Operated Round Flameless Candles
Raffia Ribbon
Tape
Prep the Candles:
Candles
Lay individual leaves in a line, right side up. Make the line of leaves long enough to go around the candle.
Place a strip of Tape across the line of leaves to hold them in position.
Wrap the leaves around the candle and secure with an additional piece of tape.
Tie Raffia Ribbon around the leaves. I used two pieces of raffia ribbon for each candle.
The showcase of my centerpiece is the gorgeous Ceramic White Pumpkin. It has a white glaze and a little gold detailing to make this pumpkin absolutely stunning. Place it on the wood slices.
Set the Candles on opposite sides of the centerpiece.
Tie your place settings in with your centerpiece:
Napkins
Fold napkins however you wish.
Lay a couple of leaves on the napkin.
Tie with raffia ribbon.
Water Goblets or Wine Glasses
Tie raffia ribbon to the glass stem.
So, what do you think of my Thanksgiving tablescape? It’s simple and elegant, right? And it certainly was quick and easy to create.
If you are looking for more ideas and inspiration, check out Oriental Trading for all your everyday and holiday needs.
Looking for an easy DIY project to spruce up your home before the holidays? Check out our Mantel Makeover!
This post, Mantel Makeover – An Easy DIY Home Improvement, has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Prep4Gathering #CollectiveBias
Hello! I am super excited about today’s post. Finally, I’m crossing off a long-awaited project from my wish list. And it is all part of my preparation for the family gatherings over the holidays. I know you have all heard of spring cleaning, but I dig even deeper in the fall.
I love to decorate for the holidays and have a home that is festive and cozy for family and friends to stop in for a visit or a party. Before I start decorating, a clean house is a must. But it is not just my living spaces that need to be in tip-top shape, it is my kitchen and bathrooms too. With a house filled to the brim with family, you can’t leave a nook or cranny uncleaned, because you just know that great-aunt Bessie will point out the spot you missed. So, I make sure I stock up on great cleaning supplies like Pledge® Spray products, Scrubbing Bubbles® products, and Windex® Outdoor Cleaner. They get the job done and make easy work of it too.
Another way I ready my home for holiday parties, is with some sort of project to freshen up the decor, or make a home improvement. Last year it was new valances; this year, it is my mantel makeover.
We have a pretty stone-faced fireplace in our home, but for some reason, it has (or had) a tiny little mantel that was good for almost nothing. So, today, I am going to show you how we transformed that ugly hunk of wood into a mantel that makes a statement.
Mantel Makeover
An Easy DIY Home Improvement Project
The old so-called-mantel looked like somebody shoved a 2″ x 4″ atop the stones and gave it excessively thick coats of paint. It certainly did not become the crowning glory of the fireplace. But, with a few supplies from The Home Depot, some simple tools, and a minimal budget, my dreams came true. And just in time to decorate for the holidays too!
Crown Moulding (or another type of moulding or trim)
Miter Box and Miter Saw
Utility Knife
Drill
Level
Scraper
Measuring Tape
Moulding Adhesive
Screws and Finish Nails (or a type of liquid nails)
Painter’s Tape
Paper Towels
Sand Paper
Putty
Paint or Stain
DIY Mantel Makeover How-To:
Remove old trim and get down to the mantel wood that you will use as your base.
Check the level of your starting mantel, so you know what you need to do to make your new mantel square and level.
Attach spacer boards if needed to make the mantel wider or deeper.
You can see above, we used a 2″ x 4″ as a spacer, and also 3/4″ x 3-1/2″ milled common pine pieces as the backer. These boards made our mantel larger and were the width size of the moulding we chose.
Attach the backer to the spacer. We drilled pilot holes and used screws to keep the wood from splitting. We also floated those boards to make our mantel level and square, since the old mantel was not. Squaring these pieces is easier for moulding placement.
Attach the top mantel board using three counter-sunk screws and some finish nails into the old mantel wood. Be sure to use a nail set to push them down below the surface, so you do not dimple your mantel shelf.
Carefully measure and cut moulding, one piece at a time. Test fit. Make sure you measure EACH individual piece, as dimensions will most likely differ due to wavy walls, etc. Our mouldings all fit square, so we cut 45-degree angles to make a square corner.
Once satisfied with the fit, we used a 10-minute moulding adhesive to glue our moulding pieces to the backer boards and top mantel board. We chose a water-based adhesive for easy clean-up. Use Painter’s Tape to hold mouldings in place while they dry.
Clean excess adhesive with a scraper and a damp paper towel. If you do this right away it is easier than trying to do it after it dries.
We had two separate mouldings, a 3-1/2″ moulding on the lower part of the mantle covering the backer boards, and a 3/4″ moulding trim to edge the top mantel board. If you have access to a router, you could always route your own details.
Putty the screw and nail holes, so there are no divots in the shelf surface.
Once putty and moulding adhesive are dry, sand smooth.
Prime and paint, or stain.
A Few Tips:
Buy DRY wood, not wet. It will help prevent warping and twisting. You can tell the difference between wet and dry wood by color and weight. Dry wood will be lighter in color and lighter in weight. Wet wood is darker and heavier.
Cut the pieces to an approximate length and sand all pieces before putting it together. Try your best to avoid cutting through any knots in the wood.
Moulding adhesive allows you wiggle room to adjust placement before it sets.
You could use a type of liquid nails to float the entire mantel to level instead of screws or nails if your starting base has the dimensions you want.
If you have a larger size mantel, you may not want or need the 2″ x 4″ spacer that we used. The contractor for our mantel must have gnawed out the wood using a beaver and an ax, and apparently didn’t own a level either.
Now, onto the really fun part, the decorating! Since I am preparing for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and all the family gatherings that go along with them, I wanted something festive with a seasonal scent — the Glade® Apple Cinnamon Candle is perfect. It smells like hot apple cider on the stovetop, and the color is gorgeous too.
I picked up my candle at The Home Depot while we were gathering our supplies for the mantel project. I also grabbed the Pledge® Multisurface – Antibacterial. Won’t that come in handy for turkey day! It gently cleans your kitchen countertops. You can never be too safe with those raw turkey juices and the messes you know will happen. I use Windex® Original Glass Cleaner all the time for mirrors, windows, and vinyl blinds, and I was excited to try the Windex® Outdoor Cleaner — amazing! The outside windows are always so much harder to clean, and this product is made specifically for this grimy job. The Home Depot and SC Johnson have made prepping for the holidays a snap. With the right supplies, it is always easier to get your sense of humor on and be prepared to entertain your family and friends.
I know my guest will be comfortable in my clean home, and I am excited for them to see my beautiful fireplace. Just look how pretty my new mantel turned out, and it cost me less than $50. I am so pleased!
So here’s to family gatherings for the holidays! Remember to feel joy, laugh a lot, and be prepared for life’s little messes. #Prep4Gathering
