Chalkboard Display Stand

Hello my crafty friends.  I'm stepping out of my "stamping box" a bit today.  I've cut back on my stamping commitments a bit this year in order to get a bit more organized in my life, and to "get crafty" in other areas that have recently intrigued me.  Now, stamping will always be my true love, but I'm having fun exploring with jewelry and just now painting with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint too.

I happened upon a charming store called Embellish and Restore in Downtown Visalia, CA a couple of weeks ago, and fell in love with all the repurposed items created by local artists.  Monica,the store owner, also encourages patrons to try chalk painting on their own because of the ease of it.  There's absolutely no priming or sanding necessary to use this paint.  So when I saw THIS image in Grandinroad magazine, I knew I wanted to create my version.

Chalkboards are all the rage, and I've made a few cards using the "Chalkboard" technique, so I thought it would be fun to make a little chalkboard stand.  My husband and I are empty nesters as of a year-and-a-half ago, so I decided to remodel and redecorate my 2 kids' rooms and make them into guest rooms.  In my daughters room, I'm going to put a little repurposed desk, and I thought it would be fun to have this chalkboard sitting on it with a welcoming message.  As you can see, it also works well as a temporary jewelry holder.  It's ready with a message for when my daughter comes home for Spring Break.

It was super easy to make too.  I purchased a black picture frame, a distressed brushed copper taper candle holder and a glass door knob, from Hobby Lobby, and went to work painting.  All I did was paint the frame and candle holder with Pure White Chalk Paint (Annie Sloan), let it dry for 20 min., put a thin layer of Clear Soft Wax (Annie Sloan) over it, paint a layer of Provence Chalk Paint (Annie Sloan), over that, let dry, add layer of wax, sand, and add last layer of wax.  The only main time consuming part was letting it dry.  Like I said, super easy, and I LOVE the result!  I should add that I watched the Annie Sloan Tutorial first to see how to use the wax.  The only thing I did differently, was add wax after my first layer so it would show more when I sanded after the Provence layer.

I should also add that I used E6000 glue to glue the frame to the candle holder, the pearl brads to the sides, and the door knob to the top.  (My dear husband cut off the long doorknob screw so I could glue it.)  I also used Chalk Ink Wet Wipe markers to write the message.

That's it for today.  I'll have a card for you later this week.

Thanks for visiting!!

Happy Stamping (Creating)