Make your own chalkboard... or buy this one:)

Try this at home!  I just finished up this chalkboard today and I like how it came out:) 

For the frame, I went to a craft store and bought a clearance custom frame (so big and inexpensive... probably one they had done for an order that didn't work out!)

I then went on over to the local big box store and asked those nice men working there to cut the sheet of 1/4" sanded plywood that I purchased to the exact size... love that!

Next primer on the plywood... grey is a good base color primer.  Then two coats of chalkboard paint.

Then the fun part!  I painted the frame in layers of CeCe Caldwell's Alaskan Tundra Green, Memphis Blue and then back to Alaskan Tundra.  I let it dry for a bit... and then the even more fun part...

I took an old washcloth, dampened it, and used it to rub off some of the paint where I wanted wood or layers to show through.  (You can just wash and re-use the washcloth.)  I let it dry again, and then sealed it with some of CeCe's lovely clear wax and Satin Finish (quickest thing ever!) and voila... Check out the great detailing this gives you!

Last step was to seriously hot glue it into the frame from the back... get it good, because you don't want it coming loose when you erase the chalk.  And done!  Try it!

If you need paint, you can pick it up at Not 2 Shabby in Littleton, or email me at reclamationdesigns@gmail.com to order by mail.

This one is available, and I have other frames in waiting if you would like a different color!

Sneak Preview of Jane...

This is Jane, a stately buffet newly redone in CeCe Caldwell's Vermont Slate with clear and dark wax.  No distressing.  Jane is not distressed... she is serene... and a bit playful with her fresh white hardware.

I'll post her glamour shots when she gives me the word that she's ready:)  Jane doesn't like to be rushed.

Today is the Day! Come on by Not 2 Shabby... I'll be there from 1:30 to 3:00

My New Logo is Done!

CeCe Caldwell's Naturally Green Paints Now in Colorado!!!

Here it is.  The first shipment!

Tick Tock...

...36 hours until paint!

File Cabinet with Casters

Here is the result of today's project with the file cabinet.  I still haven't decided it's ultimate finish.. clear wax, dark wax accents, or satin finish... I'll keep thinking.  I am loving the crispness of CeCe Caldwell's Simply White with this though.. so probably one of the clear finishes.
I put some casters (with stops) on the bottom so that I can file from wherever I feel like it:)  While pre-drilling the holes for the screws, I was contemplating how anal I am about my power tools!  I must have each drill bit in it's proper place, etc.  As I was thinking about this, I could smell the delicious scent of the Shrimp Dianne that my husband is cooking in the kitchen.  Got to love modern times!

Happy!  Now if only the filing elves would come while I am sleeping:)

Getting Organized...

Today is to be spent getting organized.  Where to start?  With paint of course!  (And then on to installing my new accounting software....ugh!)

I gave my old metal, utilitarian file cabinet away.  Aesthetics really impact me, and it was much too, well, ugly, to help my office and creative space.

I got this cabinet from a local thrift store for $7.50.  Perfectly functional... and though a definite step up from it's beige metal predecessor... still ugly.  Old oak veneer.  'Nough said.

CeCe Caldwell's Simply White Chalk & Clay Paint to the rescue!  It is so nice to just be able to wash a piece down and get started.  No priming.  No sanding.  Just getting down to the business of beautification!

So, here it is after two coats.  I haven't waxed it yet.  I am undecided as to how I want to wax it... clear, with dark wax... or to use the fantastic Satin Finish (a brush on finish that is more scrubable.... new word!).  I'll think on that.

In the mean time, off to a big box store for some rolling casters to put it on.... you never know when you might want to do your filing in the front room!  :)

I'll post the final pic when it's done!

White or Wheat?

White or Wheat?  My husband, born and raised in the Southeast, thinks it is nearly a sin to use wheat bread for Chicken Salad Sandwiches.  Coming from the Northwest, I vote wheat every time.  As long as Southerners are marrying Northwesterners, the debate will continue!

By why choose when you can have both?  These reclaimed End Tables are done in CeCe Caldwell's Young Kansas Wheat and Simply White for a very weathered, aged look:  Barn Chic!

Originally by Lane, they are solid wood.  Newly redone in Chalk & Clay Paint, and waxed.

Chalk Painting Old Hardware

If the piece you are working on has all it's hardware, but you just don't love it, or it doesn't fit with the new look you old furniture is sporting, paint it!

The key to success in painting hardware is to put your paint on a flat surface, dip you brush in it, and then dab it back off, so that you are working with a fairly DRY brush.

For these knobs and backplates, I used CeCe Caldwell's Kansas Wheat and Simply White.  In this photo, you see the hardware with the first coat in Wheat.

It helps to brush in a clockwise fashion.  Don't dab down into the grooves, or try to get complete coverage with the paint.  Let the brush naturally highlight the details.  This gives you more

visual interest when you are done.

A simple way to let you knbos dry without touching the edges or having to set the knobs down and disrupt the paint on the edges is to put them on toothpicks and insert them into a foam block.

The last step is to wax your knobs lightly after they have dried.  This will set the paint.

If the knobs have heavy use, some of the paint may wear eventually.  This will only contribute to
the aged or antique look of your piece.  However, you will be surprised how well
CeCe Caldwell's Chalk & Clay Paint adheres to bare metal!

Here is my little Knob Garden drying.  Can't wait to put them on!

(If you are replacing hardware that has backplates with hardware that doesn't not,

see my post on replacing old hardware for tips.)

Vintage French Print

I just finished the frame on this lovely print.  23"h x 20" wide.  It is a bit difficult to see in these photos, but the underlying colors on the frame are a bit of black, with a rich blue under the cream.

Gone fishing!

Console Table in Sante Fe Turquoise

 Just finished this up for Ashley.  The color is just the thing to perk up this snowy Spring day!

I painted the brass hardware with the Turquoise and Charcoal, which gives a look of aged copper:)

CeCe Caldwell's