Today is the day that I will have a month of Matt ALL TO MYSELF (and Oliver, of course)!  I woke up this morning feeling like it was Christmas!  He has his last final today (praying for you!) & then he wanted to get some pizza as an end of semester treat... We hardly, if ever, go out to eat, so pizza is a treat!  On a side note, we also woke up at 5:30am because we heard the dreaded "rats" again.  When I called maintenance, they said it was squirrels, but they would still come and have a look.  So, my Friday consists of waiting for someone to show up & look in our walls...  Another side note, I went to Target this morning to pick up a few things & let me tell you, I love Target.  I do not know what it is, but it is my favorite place to go.  Plus, I usually go in the early morning to beat the rush & it gives Oliver a chance to run around Target without getting in anybody's way.  Today was a different story.  First, there was the goldfish incident, where there was a bunch laying in the aisle & Oliver preceded to start putting one in his mouth.  I freaked out & quickly grabbed the goldfish out of his mouth.  Then we are grabbing a few toddler food pouches & he starts picking up the glass baby food jars...  Usually, Oliver is pretty good about obeying & sticking by me, but today he did the complete opposite of everything I told him NOT to do.  Did I mention to tell you that I only grabbed the hand cart?  Of course, you go to Target expecting just to get a few things...  Then it turns into an unexpected grocery haul where the little hand cart is now full, PLUS I have an 8 roll paper towel package that I am trying to hold & the diaper bag.  Yaaaa.... On top of that, when I am checking out, Oliver heads on over to Starbucks & starts playing with their twinkle lights they have hanging near all of their porcelain mugs!  I must have looked like a lunatic to the young couple behind me as I am trying to pay for my groceries & (quietly) yell "DON'T TOUCH THAT!", "PUT THAT DOWN!", "COME HERE!" (you get the general idea).  Anyways (sorry that was longer than I thought), it was a stressful trip to Target...

Ok, lets start talking chalkboard DIY.  About a month ago, I decided it was time to make another hanging chalkboard.  I made one when I lived in Oregon, right when I found out I was pregnant.  I wanted to document my baby bump & totally got the cute idea from Jessica over at Little Baby Garvin.  Sadly, when we moved to Virginia, I sold it because we were trying to conserve space in our moving trailer.  So, I knew, when we moved here, I would just have to make another one!  This is actually a pretty easy DIY & takes about two full days to finish.  

Disclaimer:  I would NOT use this chalkboard paint again.  It was streaky & took way to many coats than what the directions said.  Plus, it peels really easily & i have noticed that I have to go over my chalk designs multiple times, just so you can see what I wrote.

Okay, below are the items you will be using for this tutorial.  I bought that frame from The Salvation Army for around six bucks.  The chalkboard paint is from JoANN's, which was around $7 (I recommend using  Rust Oleum Specialty Chalk Board paint from Walmart).  The flat white paint is from Home Depot & the foam brushes were a couple bucks from Walmart.

First, lay down a drop cloth, or if you are like me & don't have one, a bunch of paper bags will be fine. 

I really love the look of the end result, but next time I will definitely buy the other chalkboard paint.  I used it on my previous chalkboard & it worked so much better!

Here is a few of my previous chalk board pictures (not the best quality) & a trip down memory lane!

Have a merry & bright Friday!!