Look who's finally joining the chalkboard bandwagon!

Well, I must admit that it took me a while. I thought the chalkboard phase would just come and go. But I was wrong.

Chalkboard paint is showing up everywhere these days! I love all the creative uses I am seeing! So, I finally caved and bought a jar of chalkboard paint for myself.

I used it to transform this:

Into this:


I found the wooden plaque at Jo-Anne's for about $7.00. The chalkboard paint is a little more spendy at $10, but I frequently get coupons for 40-50 % off items at Jo-Anne's so that was the perfect thing to buy! After painting 3 coats of the chalkboard paint on, I attached some strong magnets to the back and now it is happily perched on our refrigerator. It's the perfect place to write down grocery items needed, or fun little notes!


I think it goes pretty well with my "Gone With the Wind" magnet set. Teehee.


What do you think about chalkboard paint/the whole chalkboard obsession these days? Are you getting fonder of it, or are you waiting for the fad to pass? I would love to hear your thoughts!



P.S. I'm linking up to Show and Share Day over at Just A Girl's blog! Hop on over to check out some more fun projects like this one!

Mikalah Vs. Photoshop- The Harrowing Tale

After this week, I have come to a few conclusions. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. I love to make things look pretty.
2. I love blogging about making things look pretty.
3. I would love for my blog to look pretty.
4. I am not a graphic designer.
5. Photoshop was created for graphic designers.
6. Photoshop is like a special club for graphic designers, who like to taunt us regular people who know absolutely nothing about their crazy languages and mad computer skillz.
7. I abhor Photoshop. Even more than I abhor green shag carpet (which is a saying a LOT).

So here’s the background story that has led me to these painful yet true conclusions. I decided to create a new blog header for myself this week. I was so excited and filled to the brim with imaginative ideas that were itching to flow from my mind onto the canvas of my blog. I was sure I could create a banner that would simultaneously make people gasp in awe and cry from the sheer beauty of it. Did I ever mention that I’m an over-achiever?

To start with, I have absolutely no training whatsoever in graphic design. What I know, I learned from a good friend named Mr. Google. I can see a picture of what I want in my mind’s eye, but I have no way of getting that vision into reality. Enter Photoshop 7.0 (downloaded for free from the internets by my bargain-loving self, I might add).

Here’s what my brain thought: Using Mr. Google’s vast knowledge and the creativity stored in my little grey cells, I will bend Photoshop to my will and force it to comply with my demands. I will prevail!!!

Here’s what actually happened:

I spent 2 hours of my life trying to re-size an image.

An image! ONE image! Do you know what happened? First, I could not for the life of me figure out how to make the image smaller without cropping it. I wanted the whole thing, just smaller! Is that really too difficult?

Finally, I figured out (through my own trial and error, I might add- Mr. Google really failed me on this one) how to make the image smaller. But when I finally got it to the correct size, I found that instead of being clear and lovely like it was supposed to be, the image was all distorted and pixellated. I googled and fussed and deleted and undid and redid and resized for what seemed like an immeasurable amount of time. I was so focused, I didn’t even stop to eat a snack or go pee. All natural human instincts were completely forgotten in the light of this harrowing quest.

After about 2 hours, my husband finally approached me and asked it everything was ok. Apparently, he noticed that I was hunched over the computer seething like a deranged woman, with my hand slowly forming into a claw around the mouse. I’m sure I had a wild look in my eyes to go with the whole persona as well. Poor, poor Josh. With that one sweet, innocent question he released the verbal barrage of sheer frustration that had been slowly building up in my mind over the past 2 hours.

And that, my friends, is the story of how I came to the conclusion that Photoshop is pure, unadulterated evil. I know you might be wondering why I’m being so melodramatic about something like this, but after you spend 2 hours of your life trying to measure up to a computer program things get a little, shall we say, muddled. So I don’t have a lovely new blog banner to show you, and I probably won’t until I pay someone else to make one for me. The End.

Hot (or Not)?

Josh and I picked up this a-dorable little vintage side-table when we were on our anniversary trip last month. However, it sat in our garage for quite some time because I could not decide what color to paint it! I thought maybe heirloom white, or minty-green, or peacock blue, or even marigold yellow would be cute.

Well, I finally chose.

And I'm still not sure. Prepare yourselves...


...

Yes, I painted it ORANGE. (Mom, if you are reading this, just please sit down and breathe a few deep breaths. I promise your eyes will adjust soon).

I have lived with the color for a while, and honestly, I think it's growing on me. I'm not sure if it's in an algae-growing-on-a-pond sort of way, or if it's really working.

I'm dying to know what YOU think though!

Should I repaint it, or leave it as-is? Or on a totally different note, should I consider seeing a therapist?

Oh hey Fall, it's you again!

Yup, Fall is here again.

And with it comes that inexpressible joy that bubbles up every time a crunchy leaflet falls to the ground.

I love Fall.

I love hot apple cider with mulling spices on the stove, warm wool-y sweaters to wrap up in, thick layers of socks, bonfires on cool, crisp evenings, trips to the Apple Orchard. Just thinking about it is getting me all excited!

So, to celebrate these first Fallish days, I pulled together a new look for our little "mantle" above the couch.


I finally found the perfect spot for these fantastic plastic wall thingies!


My owls are right at home near this stack of books! Aren't owls supposed to be avid readers or something? I thought I heard that somewhere...

(P.S. this owl has a hollow tummy that fits a tealight, and it makes his eyes light up! Teehee. Perfect for freaking out the hubby when Halloween comes around...).

I think my favorite part of this little vignette is the picture:


I got this from my MIL- I believe it used to belong to Josh's great-grandma.

So there's a little sneak peak at what's happening around here. How about you? What is your favorite season?

The Land of Misfit Accessories

I have a rather silly confession to make.

You know how I love to thrift? And love shopping for things on sale? And love saving money and then bragging talking about it here?

Well, as much as I love those things, sometimes I find myself turning up my nose at the clearance sections at some stores. I'm talking about the end-of-the-aisle sections where store employees pile up all the lost, forgotten, hopeless items that no one wants to buy.

The china cups with chips and missing handles, the picture frames with broken glass, the lamps that don't quite stand up straight. It's the Land of Misfit Accessories.

Well, I'm here to tell you ladies that sometimes, that place can be a treasure trove. Even though I turn up my nose at the crappy things I see there sometimes, once in a while I find something that is outrageously cheap that I can take home and transform into something new and amazing!

Case in point:


Here we have a sad little jar that was sitting on the shelf, looking lost and forlorn. It had some sort of rubber ring around the neck, which said that perhaps it was missing a lid. But the thing that sold me on it was the cute little oval "chalkboard" message spot. And the price tag. $2.00.

Well, I brought the little guy home, removed the rubber noose from it's neck, and now he has found a happy new home next to the sink.


I have one more silly confession to make. Writing on chalkboards makes me feel like I'm going to puke.

But, that won't stop me from writing cute little messages on here once in a while!