DIY: Pumpkin Chalkboard Cake Plate

Hello Everyone! My name is Katie and I blog over at Running with a Glue Gun. Today I’m going to be showing you how to make a fun cake plate! With the fall season upon us, you may be getting …

HOUSE RULES

By Chris Wallace for Walnut Hollow

We all live by some sort of rules, right? It’s fun to have rules for those who live together too – and they really can be very simple. Post those Rules somewhere so everyone can see them using a Rustic Pallet piece – this one measures 12” x 24”.

Start with the unfinished version and spray 1-2 coats of Krylon® Chalkboard Spray in Black to cover the front and back. Follow the directions on the can.

Rub regular chalk on each slat and remove with a paper towel or soft cloth. Now the slats have been conditioned to work better with the Marvy® Bistro Chalk Markers in many colors. Try different styles of hand lettering to create the “Rules”, each in a different color. Don’t forget to add some little “doodles” here and there.

Maybe you can have a prize each week for the family member who followed all the rules! Let me know who wins……

 

Halloween Tree

By Chris Wallace for Walnut Hollow

Remember? I said I was going to doing something “un-traditional” with the Rustic Tree. This is just the first one and it was so easy to make!

You could use regular Black acrylic paint for the “branches”, but I used DecoArt® Americana® Chalkboard Paint™ so I could change the words from year to year if I wanted. Use a large flat brush to paint the Chalkboard Paint on the branches. Follow the instructions for painting 2 coats and letting it dry thoroughly.

Using a large flat brush, paint the “trunk” of the Tree with DecoArt® Americana® Chalky Finish, Heritage. By now, I guess you know that this new paint from DecoArt is a huge favorite. It’s nice and thick – you only need one coat.

The Marvy® Chalk Markers are great to use on the Chalkboard Paint. Usually I rub a regular piece of chalk over the dry paint to condition it for the Chalk Marker or for regular chalk. This time, I just left the paint as is and wrote with the Chalk Marker right on top.

I wanted to add a few things to the tree – like ornaments. I decided to paint clothespins and nail them to the branches here and there so I could pin a few things.

This is your early idea for the upcoming Halloween season. Better get started now – Happy Halloween!

 

 

Family Chalkboard

By Chris Wallace for Walnut Hollow

We are so excited to be blog hopping with Clearsnap today! We have so many creative projects to share with you using Clearsnap‘s high quality Made in the USA ink pads and stamps and Walnut Hollow Wood Surfaces and Tools. Let us know what you think about our projects by leaving comments. See the whole list of bloggers at the end of my post!

 

I really like this new Natural Bark Edge Panel. After thinking of many different ways to use it, I decided to create something functional for my first project. I’m also going to share how I corrected something that happened while I was creating it.

I wanted to make the Panel more of a neutral look and have all the fun come with the colors of the Chalk Markers. I like the color combination of tan and black, so I used a large flat brush to basecoat the top panel with DecoArt® Americana® Chalky Finish Heirloom. The Chalky Finish paint is so thick and creamy – all you need is one coat. The black area was painted with Americana® Chalkboard Paint™. Make sure you follow the directions on the bottle for the Chalkboard Paint.

Now to the fun part – I wanted to include a family name and there wasn’t a better way to do it than to use Ann Butler’s EZ-De’s Flourish 2” ABC’s. So many other alphabet stamps are so small – these are just perfect! I used the Ann Butler ColorBox Crafters™ Aquamarine ink pad. Using a ruler to measure the top panel across, I marked the center with a pencil. I also drew a very thin pencil line to help keep the lettering straight.

I work from the center to stamp any name or saying. As you can see, the “N” in the center of “BRUNNER” was first, the next “N” to the right was stamped also (since I had the “N” on the acrylic block!). I like to work to the right then to the left, however if there is a repeat in letters, I make it easier on myself by working that into how I stamp the name.

After the family name was stamped, I heat set the ink with a heat tool. Then it was time to antique the top panel. I used Americana Staining and Antiquing Medium with Dark Chocolate (1:1). I applied the mix to the panel and wiped off the excess with a soft cloth. I was sad! Holy Smokes………you couldn’t see the name very well anymore. Geesch!!! Now what?

Well, I thought of many things and many words……but you don’t want to hear about that. Actually, the solution to my problem was quite simple, mainly because the ABC Stamps are clear. Ta-da! I over-stamped each letter using a darker ink color. I used ColorBox Crafters™ Stone (it’s a gray, not black). I inked each letter and could see through the acrylic block to position each stamp precisely where I had previously stamped. Again, I heat set the ink so it was permanent.

To condition the Chalkboard Paint, use regular white chalk to wipe onto the painted surface. After covering the entire area, wipe the chalk off with a soft cloth. Now the Chalk Markers will not leave any “shadow” marks when you erase.

Using Marvy Bistro Chalk Markers, I used white to write each name, then a colored Chalk Marker to add the parentheses.

A great feature for this Natural Bark Edge Panel is that the four basswood panels are attached on the back with 2 braces that include keyholes on each end of the brace. Now it’s time to easily hang it on the wall.

 

Thanks for stopping by to see my Family Chalkboard! Now go see what Steph Ackerman created!

 

Clearsnap Blog blog.clearsnap.com

Chris Wallace <— You are here.

Steph Ackerman <— Go here next!

Suzanne Austin

Tami Sanders

Sara Shirman

Jennifer Priest

Vivian Keh

Meihsia Liu

Denise Hahn

Bark Edge Chalkboard

by Chris Wallace for Walnut Hollow

Chalkboard-anything is the big DIY project idea currently buzzing around. You can basically turn anything into a chalkboard as long as you can paint it – and it is sooooo easy!

Everything comes in your DIY Delivery Box. You have 2 Walnut Hollow Rustic Basswood Bark Edged Rounds, DecoArt® American® Chalkboard Paint™, a Marvy Bistro White Chalk Marker, a foam brush, a piece of chalk, 2 sawtooth hangers with 4 small screws and written instructions with inspiration ideas. So, you are set to go!

Start by reading the instructions on the DecoArt® Chalkboard Paint bottle – which will tell you to paint 2 coats onto your project. One coat will be painted horizontally, one coat vertically. Apply the first coat using the foam brush onto the Bark Edge Round and wait for one hour drying time. The 2^nd coat goes on, this time brushed the opposite direction onto the Bark Edge Round and you wait for 24 hours for the Chalkboard Paint to cure.

After 24 hours, rub regular chalk over the entire surface, then wipe off with a paper towel.

That’s it! You’re ready to make a list, a sign, etc. using the Bistro Chalk Ink Marker.

Note: To remove the message and make another, use a damp cloth or paper towel to wipe off the Chalk Ink. We have also used Windex wipes in a little pouch. Once the old message is “erased”, you are ready to use your Bark Edge Chalkboard again.

Here are Different Ideas for Using your Chalkboards!

Valentine Treat Stand

My favorite part about Valentine’s Day is the excuse to eat sweet treats! Going with that idea I decided to create a treat stand for this Valentine’s Day! I know that not everyone likes the Hallmark Holiday- but who could argue with cupcakes and cookies?? This project was very simple to create and could be applied to any holiday with a simple change of color. I started with both sizes of Walnut Hollow’s Round Plates. We carry the plates in 11.5″ and 9.5″. They are made of Basswood and are made in America. I sanded both sides of the plates with a hand sander then sprayed the 9.5″ plate with Krylon Gloss Ballet Slipper spray paint and the 11.5″ plate with Krylon Gloss Mambo Pink spray paint. I sprayed the basswood plates and let them dry. I sanded the surface of the plates a little more to make sure they were smooth then added two more coats of spray paint letting the pieces dry in between coats. Once both plates were shiny and fully coated, I turned them upside down to paint the flat surface of the bottom of the plate with Martha Stewart Chalkboard Paint.

It took 2 coats to cover the Mambo Pink and 3 coats to cover the Ballet Slipper. I let the paint dry overnight then conditioned the surface with a stick of white chalk. To condition: rub chalk all over chalkboard surface then wipe off with a dry paper towel.

Be sure to read the manufacturers instructions on the chalkboard paint. If you use a different type then it might advise you to do something differently.

I added some chalk embellishments to the chalkboard surface of both plates. I used a Chalk Ink marker. These are great! They look like paint but are actually chalk! That means you can erase it!

After I was happy with my hearts I used E6000 glue to adhere my dollar store candle sticks to the wood plates.

I put the glue along the rim of the candle stick then pushed it into place on the wood surface.

After I finished assembling my stand and let the glue dry I filled it with Valentine’s Day treats… and there it is… the perfect excuse for some sweet treats!

HAPPY VALENTINE’s DAY!!

Where’s the CAKE?

Many Brides are using signs to help guests find the way to parking, ceremony location, reception area, etc. Why not the CAKE?

Our new Rustic Pallet Program includes a Rustic Market Sign great for lots of things – to identify plants in your vegetable garden, flowers in your flower garden or a “welcome” to visitors in your front yard.

I created a simple CAKE sign pointing the way to the wedding cake. It’s reusable because you can wipe off the word “CAKE” if you use a piece of chalk or a chalk pen.

Begin the project, stain the stake part of the wood piece by adding water to DecoArt® Americana® Brown Velvet.

I always use the largest brush I have that fits the area for painting or staining anything.  I stained the entire stake with the thinned acrylic paint and let it dry. Use the same large brush to basecoat the sign area with Martha Stewart Chalkboard Paint – I used turquoise, rather than black.

Follow the directions on the bottle and let the second coat dry overnight. I didn’t rub chalk on the sign to “season” it because I was going to be using a chalk pen.

I used a couple of Tombow® Power Tabs to adhere the silk flower to the sign.

Because the Rustic Market Sign is quite rough, I wasn’t sure if the chalk pen would work or not. However, I think that using the chalk pen made the word on the sign more clear than if I had used a regular piece of chalk – it didn’t matter if the sign was rough or not!