A wonderfully generous friend and book club lady, gave me a lovely Thirty-One Gifts purse. I liked its slim profile and adjustable strap immediately. Until I tried to carry it as purse. Who am I kidding? I am not at a point in my life, where a slim purse will do. Maybe when I go out to dinner with H or a night on the town with friends.
I need a super-sized, shoulder murdering, carpet bag. I still seem to be carrying around everyone's stuff. Plus I tend to travel with a notebook and pens and sunscreen and many other "just in case" items.
Nope-- no slim purses for me.
But I like it. It is so pretty. Admittedly it has been very pretty hanging on the closet door. Until Friday. I was packing for my trip and I needed something to slip my kindle, headphones, iPod and related cords into. My camera too... I wanted all my electronic gizmos, in one bag.
Then it hit me. My Thirty-One Gifts purse, would be perfect, with a few modifications.
It really is a cute bag. But with a super long strap.
And the interior pockets will be perfect for slipping in my camera, iPod and cords. With my kindle, it will still be slim enough to slip neatly into my carry on bag.
At first I thought I would use my seam ripper and just remove the strap altogether. That however was a no-go. As a well constructed bag, it has the straps nicely attached.
Then I decided, well a bit of a strap would be helpful.
So I cut the straps and then sewed them down, careful to double them over, to avoid fraying.
I created a carrying strap using the hardware already on the bag.
And a tab detail. I used a zigzag stitch as it will show.
I am pleased with my quick repurposing and cannot wait to try it out. I think it will be just perfect.
I watched this tutorial and followed her instructions to the letter. It was easy. The results were fantastic.
So I started with the fabric I had purchased for the very special draw string bags I made this fall. Even thought I bought a remnant, it was nearly a yard! I had more than enough for the bag and two pillows.
It is no secret. I am horrible at cutting fabric. So I made a pattern. I followed the instructions in the video and I used an old atlas to make a pattern. It worked like a charm.
After cutting the fabric using my pattern, I hemmed the edges of the fold as instructed and then pinned the back to the front, right sides facing. Then you simply sew the square together. This is so easy.
And they are simply beautiful.
I used a simple silk on the back. So elegant.
I made these for the almost staged living room. The chairs are a great peacock blue velvet. I love them, but wanted a throw pillow. The pillows really have a touch of every color we have going in the living room, which ties it all together very nicely.
This project required no materials, as I had the fabric and the pillow inserts. I would estimate it took me maybe an hour or so, from start to finish.
I made this a good while back, it was only as I was repairing it, that I decided I should feature it on the blog.
L had this skirt when she was in preschool. My mom got it for her and it was a favorite. She wore it, until one day, she ripped one of the tiers and I couldn't fix it but I hated to throw the skirt away.
I found some pink purse handles at JoAnn's and decided that I could re-purpose this favorite.
Step one: Turn skirt inside out. Cut to size if needed. I think a skirt with an A-line will work best, but having said that, a straight one would work too.
Step two: Turn the skirt inside out and sew the bottom closed. I double stitched mine. You could reinforce the bottom too, if you wanted to.
Step three: Decide if you want to have a closure of some sort on the top. Since this was an adjustable waist skirt, I rigged up a closure using the existing button holes. I will be the first to admit, that this did not survive for very long. L and I have decided she does not need a closure, she can stuff more in it without one.
Step four: Figure out the placement of your handles. I used very sturdy bias tape this time. The first time, I used some of the fabric from the lower hem, that I had cut off. My first attempt was stylish and held up for a good while, but my recent repair went more for substance, less style. Really it is a personal preference. I would double or triple stitch the handle loops and back stitch for good measure.
And Viola! You have a purse from a skirt. L carries this around all the time. She loves it.
When S and I were texting this summer about the wedding, I said I wished I lived closer, so I could help with the wedding. Without missing a beat, she took me up on my offer. She wanted me to use my mad sewing skills...
As a point of clarification, I do not have mad sewing skills. I have, however, over a period of time taught myself to sew. I have a long ways to go. What I would like to be able to do and what I actually can do vary greatly. I also really need to make friends with my mother's sewing machine, which is a much spiffier model than the one I am using.
I digress. So S needed a cute, modern drawstring bag for the breaking of the glass. In case you didn't know and slept through Yentl, at a Jewish wedding, the couple break a glass at the end. The glass is in a bag and the bag gets stepped on.
There are a variety of symbols associated with this custom, but in this case J and S choose to temper the joy of their day, by noting that not every couple who wishes to marry, can legally marry and while they celebrate their marriage, they take a moment to pause and reflect that not everyone is so blessed. (I cried as the Rabbi read the explanation...)
I was so incredibly honored to sew this bag for them. What a wonderful gift they gave me. A chance to participate and create something beautiful for them.
S also gave me alot to work with. She sent me links to bags she had looked at, her pinterest wedding page, and dimensions.
Had I been more together, I might have shopped before the trip to Sarasota, but I wasn't that together, so I ended up shopping right after the kiddos went back to school. I was looking for grey fabric, with accents of teal and orange.
As I texted S, grey was SO LAST YEAR!
I will admit the fabric proved challenging. I spent a long time in JoAnn's searching and searching. If I had it to do over again, I think I would have searched online. In any event, I decided on a remnant of one and a good solid choice for the other. I ended up making two bags, so that they could choose which one worked the best. One was more romantic and the other more tailored.
The tailored bag, was nearly technically perfect. The more romantic one was really a stretch for my skill set and the fabric was a challenge to work with.
They ended up using the tailored bag.
I have to say I was pleased with both of them... It was a project of love and I would do it again in a minute...
So-- what I know you all want to see, pictures and my process.
For bag number 1-- the tailored bag, I used some high quality quilting cotton and some fusible interfacing. Ideally I would have been able to find a coordinating cotton and lined the bag that way, but sadly... nada... I struck out, so I simply used the same fabric for both the lining and the outside.
I watched this video as a refresher to making a draw string bag, which honestly is a very basic sewing skill, that I think all aspiring seamstresses should have in their bag of tricks. It is a handy little skill.
Before cutting my fabric, I fired up the iron and created a doubled sided piece of cloth.
Step 1: Cut two pieces of cloth and place the fusible interfacing in between, wrong sides of the fabric together.
Step 2: Once you have double sided fabric, measure and cut the fabric to your specifications using whichever method/pattern you have chosen.
Step 3: I decided to add some bias tape to the upper hem, for a nice look and to make the bag a bit stronger.
Step 4: I threaded the cord thru and then decorated with orange and teal beads, to make the bag match the colors I knew S and J were using for their wedding.
A peak inside the bag!
I love how this one turned out!! It was technically near perfect. I agreed with S that cotton would be less likely to be slippery, I don't think the utility of the fabric took away from the elegance of the bag. (I also disclaim the breaking of the shoe... seriously, the bag was solid but not that solid.)
Version two was clever and pretty. I found a remnant and decided while it wasn't a perfect color match, it was in the right family of colors. I also had some silk at home, which coordinated with it well. Searching You Tube, I found this video that walked me through the creation of a fancy bag.
Warning: the music is annoying, but the tutorial is worth it. I will be the first to admit, that had I had more time, I think my bag would have had less technical errors. This wedding pouch was a stretch for my "mad sewing skills." Darts and hidden drawstring channels. Also my button whole presser foots was MIA and then once found, the machine and the tension was wonky.
In any event, the bag was cute and while it wasn't technically perfect, it was lovely and made with love.
Inside the bag: I have to say I was super pleased, I managed to make a lined bag... it isn't as easy as it looks and I sort of surprised myself.
The finished bag. I will say the drawstring on this one did not work exactly as I had hopped and I did add some fun beads as well.
The blue fabric is lovely and I have enough left over, that I plan to make a pillow for the newly redone living room.
Having been to the wedding and seen the crisp tailored linens, my first bag fit in perfectly. The second one was romantic and whimsical, but not a match.
I tweeted at the time, if this works out I am taking all the credit and if it was a bomb, I was going to blame Pinterest.
I am pleased to say it turned out beautifully.
Finished dress
So here is the process.
Find a dress. I found this fun strapless number on the clearance rack at Old Navy. It was off white with white stitching. I loved the style of the dress and the stitching work. I also loved the price. It was marked down to $11. Not a huge loss if I ruined it in the dying process. I had tried to find something a a few local thrift stores, but I had very limited success.
Plain off-white cotton dress
Close up of the beautiful stitching.
I prefer to work with Rit dyes and in liquid form. The powdered ones are ok, but I get the best results with the liquid ones. I settled on Petal Pink.
I used alittle over half a bottle of dye and 1 c. of kosher salt.
Then I did some prep work. I measured the dress and decided how I wanted to layer the color. Then I used our drying rack and pants hanger and played with placement of the dye bath and the dress. This took a bit of time, but it was worth it in the end.
And yes, I am fancy. I use a trash can for my dye bath.
See the ring from the last time I dyed jeans?
So I created the bath, positioned the dress roughly 2/3 of the way into the dye bath and let it sit for 3 hours. Then repositioned the dress, so only a 1/3 remained in the dye bath and let is go for another three hours.
I removed the dress, let it dry for a few hours and then washed the dress in cool water. The remainder of they dye delicately tinted the top 1/3 of the dress, just as I had hoped it would.
I am left with a pretty three-toned pink frock, which I have worn a few times already and everyone seems to really like it. I have paired it with a pink necklace. Mom is probably rolling her eyes-- pink is not generally my go to color, but in this case I think it makes the dress just perfect. (Mom was a huge fan of pink.)
On a side note, I wasn't sure what would happen to the stitching. On the off-white dress, the stitching is almost lost, as it is white-on-white. After my efforts-- the beautiful stitch work really pops. I think that may be my favorite part of the dress now.
This is a totally easy fix for a tired old dress or a ho-hum frock on the clearance rack!
Total cost-- maybe $15 and about 6-7 hours of time. (well an hour of active time and about 6 hours of the dress hanging out in the dye.) When I wore this dress to dinner for my birthday-- I felt like a million bucks.
H and I have become those parents and our kids each have an iPod touch. They inherited H and I's old ones. Part me loves the way the kids have embraced technology and the other part of me is contrary and thinks that technology is ebbing into their lives too quickly.
I will say, the iPod does make traveling with kids so much easier. They can bring their movies, tv programs, music and games with them. It does make the long car trip and the plane trips very pleasant for everyone.
The only hurdle for me are the ear buds. Where are they in the backpack, the panic attacks when the kids can't find them. This has been an issue. First I addressed it by being the party to carry the ear buds, then I taught then to wrap them around the iPod. Inevitably they get loose and sink to the bottom of the backpack or the far corner buried under books.
Before our trip to the sunshine state, I decided to address this issue.
Behold the fleece lined denim iPod pouch. The vintage buttons are a nice touch.
The process was very easy.
1. I used a pair of E's jeans. He has the uncanny ability to split the knees of his jeans in such a way, that I cannot patch or repair them. So I decided to put the latest casualty to good use. He wears a size 6-7 slim. These were 6's. I laid the iPod on the leg of the pants, even with the yellow hem stitching at the base of the leg. Once I cut it to the desired length, I then split the leg open at the inner seam. Measure or eyeball the desired width and trim accordingly. In my case I wanted a snug but not tight fit. Remember this is all about little fingers being able to execute the storage and removal process solo.
2. Find some fleece you like. In my case I used some scrap I had. L got pink and E got black monster truck. I used the denim piece as my pattern and cut the fleece to match. Stitch with coordinating thread all the way around. Wrong sides to wrong sides. Then fold in half and stitch following the existing yellow stitching. Making the pouch. I back stitched at the upper corner for extra security.
3. Cut a small strip of fleece. I find using the selvage edge is good way to go. Less stretch and you are going to get rid of that bit anyway, why not put it to use. Carefully stitch into the pouch, about 3/4 inches in. I doubled stitched and back stitched each time. This is going to get lots and lots of tugging and pulling. It needs to be tough.
4. Find a large and preferably slightly raised button and hand stitch it to the front of the pouch. Take your time and do this right. Using embroidery floss won't hurt. Remember this is going to get lots and lots of tugging too.
Then enjoy. This will easily hold your iPod and head phones. No more missing ear buds and your screen is protected.
E today at tea, had arranged the pouch in such a way that it acted as a stand, holding his iPod at the perfect viewing angle. Only my budding engineer could come up with that creative use for my quick denim iPod carrying case.
I would say this process took about 1/2 hour or so. It truly is a quick fix project.
H and I redid the master bathroom at the same time we redid the kitchen, because we are crazy people. We added a bathtub, which we both love. Above the tub is a great old mirror, which used to be in the kitchen. The frame of the mirror matches the new cabinets very nicely. I bought this mirror while shopping with my mom right after we bought the house. This is my decorating go-to, a mirror.
The other wall is blank. Totally blank, which I think suited H just fine. He is such a minimalist. He loves white and empty. To me this space above the tub just looked empty. When we went to Michigan I shot some pictures, which I thought might really be perfect for the space. While the photos might well have filled the space nicely, I could never find the right frames.
Before we continue, I have to tell you about a website that I just adore Fab. Fab features curated shops ranging from furniture to jewelry to clothing. Mostly indie and always with a focus on design. I have actually been shopping with them for awhile and I love everything I have ordered and the customer service is outstanding.
The first time Fab featured wall clings, I passed. I did not love any of the designs and I was a little worried about the application process. The second time, well I fell in love with a botanical motif and I decided it was worth trying.
This item took a bit of time in shipping, which was a good thing. It gave me time to talk myself into giving this a try and when it arrived, I was at a place time wise to go for it.
Inside the box was a tub. Honestly, do you want to know what the hardest part of this project was? I mean the one part that I thought I might never accomplish?
Getting the sheet out of the plastic tube. No kidding, I had to work and work at getting the rolled sheet out of the tube, it was in that protective sleeve but good.
The clings are on a single sheet of this special blue backing, covered in a clear cover sheet. They are manufactured in Canada, Montreal to be exact by a firm called ADzif. The designer is Lotta Jansdotter. I love Lotta's sensibility. Very modern and fresh and natural.
The second hardest part and the scariest part was cutting out the clings. You have to cut out every leaf and the two trunks. Cutting is the skill I am lacking in. I am not a good cutter. I had to give myself a pep talk for about a half hour and admit my fear twice on twitter and once on Facebook, before I actually had the gumption to slice into these babies. (I had washed the wall the previous day. The directions do not say this is a necessary step, but I think it is prudent.)
Once I had the leaves cut and sorted by size and the trunks cut, I did as directed and taped the trunks to the wall. Careful to measure and make sure my design would be centered over the tub. (This was easier than one would suspect, because I used the wall tiles as a guide.)
I should mention that I found my rotary cutting mat a very helpful tool for this process. It gave me a flat and solid surface to work from. I marked on the wall carefully where my trunks were to go and then took them down from the wall.
Now began the easy but tedious part.
Using a used up gift card, I had to place each decal face down on the rotary cutting mat and apply firm and equal pressure to the blue surface, following the grid printed on the reverse of the blue backing paper, to transfer the decal from the blue paper to the clear over cover. The directions were very clear and concise and this process went very smooth.
I have to say this is an instance where I think one can see the quality of the materials and the care in the manufacturing process. This product performs as it should.
And there began the slow process. Once you have the decal transferred you remove the blue backing carefully, position the decal on the wall, and then repeat, only this time you are using the used up gift card to carefully transfer the decal from the clear cover to the wall, very careful to smooth out any air bubbles. Once set, you carefully pull the clear coversheet off the wall, leaving behind the white decal.
Each leaf is placed separately. I basically followed the leaf pattern from the enclosed picture and then decided to free hand the falling leaves.
Instead of a pile of leaves, I wanted to create the illusion of the leaves falling into the tub.
From start to finish, with one short tea break, this took me about two hours. It is tedious. Placing each leaf with care and the stops to transfer the leaf from the blue backing to the clear coversheet and then to the wall.
I think it was worth it. The white design looks great with our white subway tile and the mural really does fit the space well. The design is also minimalist and white.
For the investment of about $35 and 2 hours of my time, I have a custom looking mural. Not a bad investment all around.
It was so worth it. I love the results and it fits the space just perfectly.
The first grade classes at E's school do a monthly special share. It varies from writing a few sentences to making a how to video. This month we had to make something that involved the Statue of Liberty. E could choose to write a story, a poem, make a poster or build something.
Naturally he wanted to build something. I have to say my building talents are not the strongest and H was slated for a lot of traveling. E and I kicked around Lego creations, foam sculpture and paper mache and chicken wire.
L kept reminding us that we only had a week and that all of those ideas sounded great until you actually got started. She was lucky, in 1st grade her classroom got to do the Flag and we wrote a story and drew a picture.
Then while watching reruns of Bravo's Top Chef, it hit me. We could do a deconstructed Lady Liberty. It is all the rage in food, why not in national symbols?
While we are used to seeing Lady Liberty looking a bit like this:
E and I have transformed her and we proudly present Lady Liberty's Closet:
and inside her closet:
She really is very one note when it comes to color. I think she may need a fashion intervention.
E and I crafted all of her items using stuff we found around the house. The box we got from a neighbor's trash pile. It was exactly deep enough and in very good shape. E and I covered the "doors" in duck tape. JoAnn's has piles and piles of colorful duck tape. The door nobs are drawer pulls from a table I got from my mom but immediately changed the drawer pulls out.
For the closet bar, E and I measured and cut some old pvc pipe we found in the basement. I used a hack saw. H was in the kitchen and yelled down, "Are you cutting PVC pipe." I yelled back, "Like a pro."
For the sandals, we traced E's feet and then cut a top strip. The tablet was easy, just free hand a gravestone shape and cut.
For the torch we used a plastic cup and part of a paper towel roll and duck tape. (on the day of the presentation, we have gold tissue paper all prepared to act as the flames.)
While the building was fun, I think E enjoyed dying a length of old white sheet, using hot water and Rit Dye. He got to pour and stir.
The only part of Lady Liberty's outfit, which we bought was her crown. It was a 99 cents foam crown, which came in grey sparkly. The down side is it only has five points and the real one has seven points, but we are working with what we have and seriously, the crown is sparkly. (Even after we painted it.)
While many people thought me using a hack saw was the scariest part of this project; it wasn't. The scariest part of this project was allowing E to spray paint the props. We found, at JoAnn's, blue spray paint that is pretty close to the correct color.
So last Saturday and again on Sunday for touch ups, I placed the sandals, torch, crown, and tablet on newspaper and shook the can of paint and handed it to my six year old. Crazy I know. It was not lost on me, as he began spraying, that this was a spectacularly poor idea.
Although with some coaching, he actually did a pretty good job.
So for about $15, E and I have built something for his project and he is excited to share his creation and the fun facts he has learned about the Statue of Liberty. He has note cards all set, with each clothing item on it in big letters and 1-3 sentences about that item on the back.
I hate to be cliche, but sometimes you just have to think outside the box.
For the last few weeks I have been very busy with DIY projects. Some smaller than others in scope, nonetheless the creativity has been flowing in full force. Pinterest is the place I go when I am looking for a tutorial lately. There are so many wonderful DIY/craft bloggers out there... Pinterest makes it so easy to find them.
I have been experimenting with fabric necklaces/scarves on and off for a year. I had an old t-shirt I thought would make an interesting necklace/scarf. I found two tutorials for making one with braided lengths of fabric. I was drawn to this, because it creates a more scarf like weight to the necklace. It makes it more of an infinity like scarf.
The first tutorial was on this old dress and I liked it, but I was seeking more weight so I when I found this tutorial on tip junkie via nette, I broke out my scissors.
Since I was using cotton t-shirts, mixed with one poly blend tee, my braids have a very different feel to them. What appealed to me about nette's version is it has a weight and body to it. After my Pinterest post, a friend and I were tweeting back and forth and he accused me, in jest, of being a magpie.
I don't deny it. Sometimes I am inspired to try something and even verbatim based on a tutorial. More often than not, I like to use a variety of tutorials to shape my thinking. It is creative inspiration. I have accepted that for knowledge, I can read from a book or listen to a lecture. That works for me. If however, I am physically creating something, well then I learn best by doing. I don't seem to be able to translate something that should be in 3D form from a flat page.
But if I can walk through the steps or as in the case of french seams last year, if I can watch a video, I seem to pick up the new skill very quickly. (After watching the video like a million times.)
So after the back story, I know you are all wondering what I came up with.
So here it is...
After this photo, I have tweaked it a bit and cleaned up the edged just a touch.
My process:
First I cut the t-shirt strips. I used three shirts. The stripped one was a cotton long sleeved shirt from Old Navy and was over 6 years old. It was way stretched out. The purple, was a tank top, size 1X from my mom's closet. It was faded and had very little stretch left in it. The grey is a poly/cotton blend from my mom's closet. It was newish, but had a stain in the middle. I love the feel of this shirt and it curled beautifully when I cut my strips, something the other two did not do.
After I had the strips, I gathered them in a variety of groups, so I could braid them. I knotted then on one end and then using a pin, pinned them to the office chair, so that I could make nice tight braids. In total, I braided three ropes. (I did this the other night when the kids were having a sleep over. The girls jumped in and "helped." I let them make bracelets using scraps of fabric, similarly braiding the strips together. L even made a key chain with some of her braids for her backpack.)
I also used two wider strips of the grey shirt as a base.
Building the scarf was a bigger challenge than I thought. I tried a few methods and settled on making one rope out of the three braided sections. Then I used the two wider grey strips as my base and attached the rope using a smaller braid to wrap.
The result is a long infinite type scarf that I can them double over and arrange to suit myself.
While it is not as neat as Nette's version, it does have the weightiness I was hoping for and it fits nicely. I have a few more t-shirts on the pile, so I may try it again. I think L would like one too...
Today I welcome a very special guest blogger to Thoughts from the edge, my daughter L. She came to me with a shopping list and some ideas and asked if I would take her to the craft store. After seeing her beautiful creations, I suggested she blog about the process. She agreed and wrote this post, with only minor spelling and editing assistance.
My Craft
by L
I made squishy doughnuts and I wanted to tell other people how to make them!
What you need: you will need scissors, acrylic paint, round sponges, and carpenters glue. You can get these at Michaels.
Here are the steps you need to take to making your doughnut:
1: If you are not making a jelly filled doughnut take your scissors and hollow the middle but don't cut all the way.
2: Using your acrylic paints pick a color and paint your doughnut, pick a new color to make a design for example, I did a zigzag.
3: If sprinkles are needed use beads and carpenters glue to glue on the beads. You might have to reglue them but that's ok.
I got a great organizer from Thirty-One Gifts for Christmas. I have been considering how best to get a bit more organized in the new year. I feel like I am drowning in the kids papers. It is a full time job, just keeping their schedules organized and sorting and storing their important papers, never mind keeping coupons and grocery lists organized.
I have a kitchen desk area, but it just keeps getting cluttered. I know what the experts say - go vertical, but there isn't much space.
This is where the door to the basement came in. Door to basement, meet the Thirty-One Gifts wall organizer. Perfect really, but how to get them together without wrecking the hallow wood door?
At first I thought, over the door hooks. Which frankly would have been an amazing solutions, had I been able to find any plain, over the door hooks. Sadly three stores later, all I had were an amazing array of "decor" hooks. Not helpful.
I am the first to say, do not believe everything (anything) you see on TV. I simply do not believe that you can clean your grout - your entire shower and the neighbor's shower with a container of grout goat, when the container is 4 oz and turns white grout purple... Sorry, I think there is something fishy. I am also not sure about hooks for hanging things, heavy things, that adhere to the wall.
However, I was out of options and decided to gamble on the 3M Command strips and hooks. Honestly the two pack was less than $5. I decided it was worth a try. The organizer isn't that heavy and if by chance the paint on the door is impacted, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
Step 1 Prep the Door. According to the package, you should clean the surface with rubbing alcohol and allow to dry.
While I was waiting I opened the package and assembled the hooks and applied the adhesive pads/stickers.
Then you stick it to the surface, hold it there and remove the hook and allow the the adhesive to bond for 1 hour. I timed this with the kitchen timer.
Then I reattached the hooks to the adhesive mounts and hung the organizer. It really was that easy and a full 24 hours later, I am happy to say, the organizer and the hooks are holding firm.
What I really like and what I doubt I could have achieved with over the door the hooks, is the organizer hangs flush with the door. This is very nice.
I still don't think I would hang pictures or anything heavy or weight bearing with these hooks, but so far, they are working out perfectly. So maybe I can believe some of what I see on television after all.
So I have been slowly, very slowly working to achieve a Zen pantry. I crave organized spaces, not that I ever really seem to achieve them, I crave them all the same. I have slowly thru the acquisition of a number of wonderful IKEA containers, slowly gotten a handle of a number of our loose odds and ends in the pantry.
I struggled with canisters. I don't have just regular AP flour to worry about. I have besan, and sweet white rice, and sorghum and the list goes on and on. The joys of being gluten free.
Early this summer I spied these glass jars with screw top lids at the Wasserstrom stall at the North Market for a buck a piece. I know totally cheap! The problem is with so many flours, I need to be able to label the jars.
Chalkboard paint.
Right - chalk board paint. I can change the label when I need to, it is cheap and easy.
While I couldn't find the paint in a can that I could paint on with a paint brush, I did find spray paint and I decided to give it a try.
So I used painters tape to tape out a rectangle on each jar. I will be the first to admit, I totally eyeballed it. I didn't measure and I wasn't consistent. The last two were the best, and if these guys were going to occupy a place of prominence on the counter, I would have gone back and reworked the others, but they aren't. These jars will be in my pantry and the only person who is going to see them is me.
Monday afternoon I went outside and painted these guys as the evening was calm and warm enough that the paint would work properly.
I used paper to cradle the jars and an old shirt to cover the lid and top portion of the jar.
Following the paint can instructions, I shook the paint well and worked in controlled overlapping rows, re-shaking every time I moved onto the next jar.
The paint goes on very shiny but dries to a dull black. As per the can's instructions I allowed the first coat to dry for an hour and then did another one.
Yesterday I carefully removed the tape and lucky for me there was very little stray paint. It removed easily with some finger nail scrapping or paint remover.
All I have to do now and condition the surface, which means coloring it with chalk and then wiping it off.
I am pleased with the results. They are serviceable and will be easy to use, now that I can label them and change the labels as needed. If I were to try this project again, I would make a template out of bendable cardboard I think.
