Crafts

DIY Yard Yahtzee

5 · Aug 20, 2015 · 4 Comments

Are you looking for something fun for your summer holiday gatherings or even a lazy Sunday afternoon? Labor Day is coming up & kiddos love games. The bigger they get, the bigger they want their games! We were getting ready for a family event and I thought it would be super fun to create a DIY Yard Yahtzee game with large dice for the family to enjoy!

This is a great way to gather everyone for a little fun this summer. The dice are super easy to make, I whipped up 2 sets in a couple of hours. They are simple 4x4x4 blocks of wood that are faux stained with BB Frösch Chalk Paint. When they aren’t being used to play games, they make great decor for your home.

Here’s your materials list…

12 4x4x4 blocks ( I bought a 4x4x10 board at Home Depot and cut it into 4x4x4 blocks.)

8 oz. BB Frösch Chalk Paint – Brown

(You can select whatever color you like, I’ve used Mink from Benjamin Moore mixed with BB Frösch Chalk Paint Powder. You can just grab a sample pot of paint at Home Depot in your favorite color and mix it with BB Frösch. You can even ask them for Mink, they have it in their system even though they don’t carry Ben Moore products.)

8 oz. BB Frösch Chalk Paint – White

BB Frösch Premium Finishing Wax – Clear & Dark

Paint Brush

Wax Brush

Round sponge

Directions

Please make sure you sand your blocks once they are cut, you don’t want any rough edges. Dust them off and get your space ready for a quick paint session. CLICK HERE for a quick video tutorial on how to make these cute dice.

Large Dice for Yard Yahtzee from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

It’s really just that simple. A little paint & wax and you’re good to go. This is a great painting technique for furniture and all kinds of stuff… It’s not just for dice!

Now, all you need to do is gather the troops and PLAY!!

If you’re new to Yahtzee, here’s a link to the rules of the game that you can print if needed. You can download your printable Yahtzee score sheet here.

I’ve also created a fun printable that you can download.

Click HERE to download Yahtzee Score Card

Now all you have to do is grab the troops and have a ball!!

+ This post originally aired on Skip to my Lou +

Kitchen Marquee Sign with Heidi Swapp

0 · Jul 31, 2015 · 3 Comments

+ Kitchen Marquee Sign post brought to you by Michaels Craft Stores +

I am obsessed with marquee signs… I truly am.

It started with this post back in July of 2013, my Designer Marquee Letters.

Back in the day when marquee letters were rather elusive. Your options were to either pay a fortune for the real deal, or find a way to DIY a set of your own. I went the DIY route which was great, the sign still lives in my kitchen and I love it, however… it was a tad challenging, still expensive and quite frankly it still looked a little wonkey with all kinds of wiring to contend with.

The day that Heidi Swapp released her Marquee Love, was a DREAM! Seriously, I’m not sure if I’ve ever been that excited about a product release in a long time. It’s BRILLIANT! Truly, I’m always kind of excited to see what Heidi has up her sleeve. She is taking the crafting world by storm these days with not only her Marquee Letters but her Minc Foil Applicator is GENIUS as well. One of my favorite crafting tools right now!

Heidi is one of those individuals who is amazingly innovative but someone who is truly genuine. She’s everyone’s cheerleader. We have connected a bit over social media and had a chance to chat at SNAP this last year. She is one lady who I truly admire and look up to. She’s brilliant and a go getter. She’s one of those ladies who dreams up a crazy idea like the Minc and just MAKES IT HAPPEN! I love that!

I had a ball this week creating with my favorite Heidi Swapp Marquee Love letters to celebrate Michaels Big Brand Sale Starting Sunday, August 2nd.

Kitchen Marquee Sign

I decided to take Heidi Swapp’s Marquee Love letters to the next level and add them to a wood sign, rather than just having them sit on a shelf. I have fallen in love with all kinds of fun typography signs for the kitchen floating around like this one from Gina of Shabby Creek Cottage

BUT… I thought, how fun would it be to have a marquee element to it. Why not do a sign saying, “Kitchen is Now OPEN” with the OPEN in marquee letters showing that when the sign is alight, the kitchen is open, when it’s off, the kitchen is CLOSED. Fun, right! Here’s how to make it…

Materials Needed

24×24 plywood board
4 – 25 inch 1 1/2 x 1/2 inch boards for the frame
Heidi Swapp Marquee Love letters O,P,E,N
Krylon Chalk Board Spray Paint
White Chalk Paint – I used BB Frösch Chalk Paint Powder
Silhouette or Cricut cutting machine OR Stencil Letters
Vinyl
Scrap paper
painters tape
Hot glue
Brad nails
Glue dots

Directions

Gather your materials and prepare them to paint. I decided to use Krylon Black Chalkboard Paint because I love the deep black and the matte finish.

First, I spray painted my letters and the frame for the sign.

Then I used BB Frösch Chalk Paint to white wash the sign base. I chose that technique rather than just straight paint because I still wanted to see the wood grain.

To white wash your board, all you need to do is use watered-down chalk paint and then lightly wipe-off the paint to reveal the grain of the wood. This is a great way to add a little color, keep the wood look and it also dries really quick!

Next, I cut my vinyl with my Silhouette CAMEO using the Bebas font. Love that font!

I laid down my vinyl and then taped the rest of the board with painters tape and some scrap paper to mask the rest of the board while I spray painted the letters.

Once the paint was dry, I placed my marquee letters and drilled holes to feed the lights through. Now, keep in mind, you need to think through the pavement of the holes and how you are going to arrange the lights in the letters. You want the battery packs sitting on the bottom frame of the sign and you need to place the drilled holes accordingly.

Then, I assembled my marquee letters and hot glued them to the board.

Next, I hot glued the frame to the sign base and then secured it with some brad nails.

On the back of the board, I used a few glue dots to secure the battery packs for the letters to the back of the board.

And that was it… your Kitchen Marquee Sign is finished!

The cool thing it looks great with the lights ON or OFF!

I found the cutest sign on The Diary of Dave’s Wife not to long ago…

Of course had to make one of my own, I thought it look great placed right under my Kitchen is Now Open sign…

How fun is that! I used some 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips that are velcro so I can easily interchange my breakfast, lunch & dinner signs for fun! LOVE IT!!

Don’t forget this next week is the perfect time to stock-up on all your favorite brands at Michaels Big Brand Sale!!

Disclaimer // This post is sponsored by Michaels Craft Stores. I am Michaels Maker this year and will be posting all kinds of goodies from Michaels Craft Stores. I do receive free product to create with.

How to Paint the Perfect Stripe

11 · Jan 26, 2015 · 4 Comments

Raise your hand if you have ever tried to paint a stripe on furniture or any project.

Now, raise your hand if your painters tape miserably failed you!

No matter what they promise, I have yet to get a perfectly clean line from the current painters tape out there. Believe me, I’ve tried them ALL. Yes, some work better than others, but 100% of the time I will have bleeding issues. Nothing can kill your day worse than your tape failing you.

I have discovered the secret… Want to know what it is?

How to Paint the Perfect Stripe

First, I use BB Frösch Chalk Paint Powder for all of my painting projects. You can use other types of paint for furniture that may be better than chalk paint for longevity, but I don’t mind painting things every few years.

Why? Well, I LOVE it!

You don’t have any prep work… No sanding, priming or striping. Sometimes it can be good to use stencils but not this time. I get all of the wonderful properties of chalk paint, plus I get to select my own colors! Also, it’s a fraction of the cost of boutique brands of Chalk Paint. Yea, total SCORE!!

You can learn more about BB Frösch Chalk Paint Powder HERE

Here’s your checklist…

+ Select your piece

I found mine at a local Eco Store. It’s an old desk that they had pulled out of a sorority house. Kinda funny!

The desk was nice solid wood, just with some cosmetic issues. All it needed was a little paint love.

+ Select paint colors

I’m using Toasted Marshmallow and Saffron Strands, both are stock paint colors from Behr Paint found at Home Depot. When I’m painting with BB Frösch Chalk Paint Powder, I use Flat paint without primer if available. I’ve been using Toasted Marshmallow quite a bit. It’s a nice warm white that I’ve fallen in love with. I used it on my kitchen table makeover as well. I’ll be sharing that one soon!

+ Paint base color

Paint the base color of your piece and take it all the way through your finial finish.

My typical routine when painting furniture is..

+ Paint one light layer followed by one to two more coats if I’m wanting a nice smooth modern finish.

+ Next, using a sanding block, I lightly sand my entire piece creating a nice SMOOTH finish. Some people have been turned off from chalk paint because they don’t like a rough finish. What they are missing is that you don’t have to have a rough chalky finish. Just with a light once over with a sanding block will get you that smooth feel we all love.

+ Then I vacuum the dust and give it a once over with a damp (not wet) cloth to remove any dust.

+ Finally, I wax my piece. This is quite frankly my FAVORITE PART! This is when your piece starts to come alive.

If you are planning on distressing your piece, do that now before you add your stripes. Also, I HIGHLY recommend waxing your piece as well BEFORE you start working on your stripes. I use BB Frösch Premium Finishing Wax. It is a revolutionary wax that cures within minutes rather than weeks! That’s a huge deal in the chalk paint industry. No one wants to work hard on a piece and then have to let it sit for a month (with an armored guard) trying to keep hands off while the wax fully cures.

The wax is the final process to help the paint fully adhere to your piece. By waxing first you won’t have to worry about the tape accidentally pulling paint off your piece when you remove the tape. Again, no matter how gentle the tape says it will be with your piece… My experience is that without the wax, it will still pull paint off.

+ Tape the stripes

This is where it gets FUN!!

Decide how you want your stripes to appear and tape your piece. For this one, I wanted a large center stripe with two thinner stripes on either side. I would love to say that I’m one of those people who measure things to the T, but I don’t. I eyeball it. I tend to trust my eye more than I trust my math skills!

Think about your piece, notice the curves and lines and plan accordingly.

My desk has a curvy cutout on the side of the desk, so I used that as my guide for creating my stripe pattern.

Side note… I paint most of my pieces on top of a card table. It’s just so much easier to for me to tackle those hard-to-reach spots at the bottom of the piece just as well as the easy-to-reach spots at the top.

+ Paint another layer of the base color

Now, all you need to do is paint another light layer of your base color just along the tape lines.

This will seal the edge of the tape and any bleeding that will occur will just blend right in! Let this layer dry and prepare your stripe color.

+ Paint your stripes

Now all you have to do is paint your stripes!

For this piece, I painted two coats of the Saffron Strand stripe. I wanted the color to be nice and rich. Sometimes, you will want a more subtle stripe and you will only need one coat.

Once I have finished painting, I let the paint settle for a few minutes, then I carefully pull the tape while it is still slightly wet. This will help avoid accidentally pulling the dry paint off when removing the tape.

Don’t sit around too long though. Paint that is treated with BB Frösch Chalk Paint Powder dries pretty quick. So, I would only wait for 5 minutes or so.

For this desk, even though I wanted a nice deep color for the stripe, I still wanted it to be distressed. I again used my trusty sand paper, for this I use a 400 grit, fine sand paper. With flat fingers or a flat hand, I work with my sand paper to get the distressed look that I like.

Don’t ever use the tip of your pointer finger to roughly gouge your piece. At that point, you are just scratching your piece (not naturally distressing) and that’s not the look you are going for… I promise. Unless you want your piece to look like your son took his soccer cleats to it, then by all means… scratch away!

+ Final Wax

Now, all you have to do is your final wax with the BB Frösch Premium Finishing Wax. Wax the surfaces where you added your stripes and you are finished!

Isn’t it FUN?!

Now that I’ve discovered the secret, I want to stripe EVERYTHING!!

I will keep myself in check though… maybe.

Disclaimer // This is not a sponsored post, I was not paid by any company for this piece. However, I am the co-founder of BB Frösch Chalk Paint Powder along with Kristin Smith and we would love for you to try our product!

Silhouette Black Friday

0 · Nov 27, 2014 · 2 Comments

It’s the BEST day of the year… First it’s Thanksgiving AND It’s the start of the best Silhouette BLACK FRIDAY Sale!

While you’re waiting for the turkey to roast… you can cash in on all of the great sales on Silhouette CAMEO (NEW and improved!) Silhouette Portrait and all of the consumable goodies like Premium Vinyl, Adhesive Cardstock, Printable Sticker Paper and so on….

Here are all the details!

40% off at SilhouetteAmerica.com (*excluding machines, downloads, download cards, subscriptions and gift cards)

PLUS Free Shipping on orders over $25 for the lower 48 states

DIY Yard Yahtzee

Here’s your materials list…

Directions

Kitchen Marquee Sign with Heidi Swapp

Kitchen Marquee Sign

Materials Needed

Directions

How to Paint the Perfect Stripe

Raise your hand if you have ever tried to paint a stripe on furniture or any project.

How to Paint the Perfect Stripe