Taylor, Author at TaylorMade

DIY Chalkboard

April 30, 2012 By Taylor 2 Comments

Last week our store, Ampersand, had its big Grand Opening! We have been open about two months now and we are loving every minute of it. I was crafting like crazy getting ready for the big day. We needed a chalkboard and my mom and I looked everywhere but we could only find one at a teacher supply store. Turns out they are $40 +. Emphasis on the +. So I decided to DIY one… because I just don’t have enough to do :) But I figured I could beat $40.

I’m not reinventing the wheel or anything, its so simple anyone could do it! For the base of the chalkboard I used an MDF board from Home Depot, it was about $3.00. They come 2’x4′ but we cut ours down to 2’x3′.

I used chalkboard spray paint (no Krylon affiliation) in green, which was about $6.00.

My best tip is to do several very thin coats. I put my board on some bricks and just left it outside all afternoon. I applied a new coat every 45 minutes or so for a few hours.

Here it is after 2 coats, still very spotty. I did about 6 or 7 coats total.

The next step is important – you have to prime the board with white chalk. Just use the long side and rub chalk all over the board.

After you wipe it off with a wet towel and let it dry, you are ready to use your chalkboard.

My husband made a quick frame for me out of molding.

I think I came in at about $11.00, yay!

Sweet Dreams Puppy Pillow

April 20, 2012 By Taylor 14 Comments

Remember my sneak peak yesterday? In case you missed it, Martha Stewart for Plaid sent me the best package ever and I was asked to make a Mother’s Day Craft using the supplies. It was Christmas in March the day all of the supplies came :)

Can you believe it? Ahh craft overload. Anyway, my Mom loves the outdoors and animals and specifically her dogs :) They are like her second set of kids, so when I thought about a Mother’s Day craft I thought about dogs. Enter the Puppy Pillow. The coolest thing in my Martha Stewart Package was the Heating Tool. I was kind of scared at first but no need to be scared! This thing is soooo cool!

You use this stencil film & tape:

And you tape the film down to a piece of glass. Then you place whatever you want under the glass as a template and you can make your own stencil! I just sketched that puppy but you can use anything to guide you.

The next part is really exciting haha… the heating tool cuts through the plastic like butter. My tip is to go at a consistent somewhat quick pace because if you go to slow or have to stop and start then it melts the plastic in a blob.

Then I used the adhesive stencil spray which sticks the stencil down once you are ready to paint. Because my stencil was so large, it wanted to roll up, so I taped it right side down so the adhesive covered evenly.

Then I stuck it to the fabric for my pillow. My happy rocks also double as pattern weights.

I used these brushes to paint in the stencil.

And this is my new favorite thing, the brush cleaner… the paint comes off really easily.

When I was telling my Mom about the project I told her I wanted to either do a gold glittered dog or a solid bright color and she said why not a gold glittered nose, so cute!

I let the painted pup dry and then I added a little reverse appliqued bone dream :)

Proceed with the pillow making.

Sweet Bone Dreams Puppy…

Thanks to Martha Stewart and Plaid for my amazing bag of craft supplies and inspiration for my pillow! I think pup fits in nicely. Check out Plaid on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for more inspiration.

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are 100% my own.

Spool of Thread Wall Art

April 17, 2012 By Taylor 16 Comments

Hi. I have had a crazy week- with the store, and a fun event, a trip to the ER, colds (maybe the flu?) and sinus infections, crafts get put on the back burner… but I’m back, yay. As you all know my craft room is a forever work in progress. If you are new around here, check out craftspaces. I have a few blank walls that need some help. I want to get a huge pair of scissors; like a real working huge pair of scissors. I thought of this spool idea months ago and thought it would be cute. I love spools, I think they are really pretty.

I used foam board for the middle part of the spool and I used paint stir sticks for the top and bottom.

Hot glue the stir sticks to the foam core board. I also added a little batting on the front of the spool but that is optional.

Glue the beginning of the yarn to the back. Then just start wrapping.

Then I hung it with some twisted metal wire around the sticks.

Now if I could find my huge pair of working scissors then it would be perfect :)

Happy Rocks

April 5, 2012 By Taylor 8 Comments

I don’t know if I have mentioned it but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the blog Color Me Katie. It’s amazing. Katie’s pictures and her apartment will actually put you in a better mood! I kept thinking about THIS post from a few months ago. Why didn’t I think of something so fun and easy? Katie put her rocks back into nature where people would find these little surprises, so cute right. I live in the suburbs so that wouldn’t be as fun, But they look really cute in my house. Do you have a blog that instantly makes you happy? Do share.