One man's trash, is another man's treasure!

So this past Christmas, my husband and I went to a Christmas party where they had a white elephant gift exchange. Each couple was to bring a good gift (under $5) and a crappy gift. Ben and I weren't so lucky and were one of the couples that went home with 2 crappy gifts. So after wondering around Hobby Lobby tonight looking for some ideas of how to decorate my house after I take all the Christmas decorations down, I came across an idea! Here is what I came up with...

So this was the lovely picture frame that I received as a white elephant gift... Now I know that someone worked really hard on this cross stitch gift (great job and props to you) , but the colors and theme of the pic just wasn't gonna work out in my house, so I decided to craft it up a bit with some things that I had laying around my house. :) 

I went downstairs to my husbands stash of spray paint and found some Primer, Red Gloss, and some Chalk  Board paint (the chalk board paint is mine:) ) 

STEP 1: Take the glass out of the frame. Place the frame on some newspaper (that way you don't have a lovely design on your counter when you are done) haha. And spray the Primer on your picture frame. Let it dry and if needed apply a second coat. 

Here is what your frame will look like after the primer is on...

STEP 2: While the primer was drying I decided to spray paint the glass. Take the chalk board spray paint (or even the chalk board paint you get in a can) and apply it to the glass. I made sure to clean the glass with window cleaner before applying the spray paint that way it gets all the dirt, and dust off of it for a smooth clean surface. 

Here is what it looked like after I spray painted the glass. 

 Once the Primer is dry (which only took a few minutes..ok maybe 5 or 10 min but I was doing laundry in the middle of my craft time so it didn't seem like that long ) haha. 

STEP 3: Apply the colored spray paint. Now you can use whatever color or finish you would like. I used a Red Gloss because I have red accent colors in my house and gloss was the kind that we had in our basement. But either Matte or Gloss finish will work. 

This is what your frame will look like after you spray paint it the color you want. Now this one took a bit longer to dry. I actually put a fan on both the chalk board glass paint, and the frame to speed up the drying process. 

And Ta-Da now you have a nice chalk board with a cute frame. :) 

Here is what I did with mine :) I saw a sign like this in Hobby Lobby and thought it was super cute, and figured why buy it when I can make it :) 

 a more head on view

And there ya have it, a super easy and quick project that you can do in between loads of laundry to pass the time by :) 

Breakfast & Crafts !!!!

So last night I ended my post telling you that I had made Caramel Bunt Rolls.... Well the verdict is THEY WERE DELICIOUS!! I woke up around 8am, and I mean WIDE awake for some strange reason, so I decided to put the rolls in the oven and start my day. Here is what I found when I walked into the kitchen...

Here is what the Caramel Bunt Rolls Look like after they baked in the oven :) All ready to eat!!!!! 

This is my Christmas Coffee Mug that my Pastor gave me this Christmas as a Christmas Gift!!! I was needing to get a Christmas mug, now I don't have to go buy one myself! :) Great way to start off my morning!!! 

So while I was doing laundry and such @ the house, the mail man came and brought me some fun reading! I have gotten some really good recipes from this magazine. 

My Projects for the Evening: 

So I was still needing to make my mom & friend Jackie's Christmas gifts, so I figured that I would post the play by play of what I did and how I did it.... 

For my Mom I made her a couple of home made canvas's. Now I know what you are thinking (they probably won't turn out) and that's exactly what I thought when I first found this on Pinterest. Let me tell you from experience IT WORKS & is CHEAPER then buying an actual canvas. 

Here are the items that I used to make this home made canvas. 

ModPodge (Hobby Lobby) 

Acrylic Black Paint ( Hobby Lobby) 

A Round sponge brush (Hobby Lobby) 

A regular paint brush (small) (Hobby Lobby)

A big flat foam paint brush (Hobby Lobby) 

Step 1: Take your flat foam brush and dip it in the ModPodge.. you want to cover your whole canvas with ModPodge. Then turn your picture over (back of the pic facing up)  and cover the back of your picture with ModPodge. 

Once you have covered both completely, carefully place your picture on the canvas. 

Here is the picture I used..

I went to OfficeMax and asked them to print out a 16x20 Matte print. It prints bigger then a 16x20 so I had to cut down the picture to the size of the canvas. (when you cut the picture, you want the edges of the picture to not completely touch the canvas edges. Have a sliver of space between the edge of your picture and the canvas edge) this is so that the picture won't hang off the canvas's edge and when you ModPodge the top layer it will seal the picture. 

 Step 2: Once you have ModPodged and put the picture on the canvas, let it dry. In the mean time, you can paint the sides of your canvas whatever color you want. (I did black because that's what my mom wanted.) 

Step 3: Once you have painted all 4 sides. Take your flat foam brush again, dip it into the ModPodge again... and apply a thin coat over the top of your picture. 

Now don't freak out... the picture WILL bubble, but the bubbles do come out. Hang the picture up somewhere and leave it for a few hrs to set. (after about 15 min you can move onto Step 4) 

Here are a few pictures of what your photo will look like right after you apply the final top coat of ModPodge...

Here is the picture hung out for it to completely set and dry. (notice how the white of the ModPodge has already disappeared after a few minutes of applying it. 

Step 4: Now for the FINAL step, the border on the picture. You will want to take your round sponge brush. Dab it in the black paint and then dab it on the edge of your picture.  Like this... 

Here is a close up of what the edges will look like when you are done

 Here is the final project !! (bubbles are still getting flattened out) 

And just in case people don't know... these are my amazing brothers (Michael in the middle, Matthew, on the right, and Marcus on the left) if you are looking at the picture. They are all my best friends and I love them to death!!!! Even though I may be the shortest and less strong, I'm still their Big sister and will protect them with my life!! 

  

"LOVE" 

Items I Used:

Paper Machete Letters (Hobby Lobby) 

Acrylic Paint (whatever color you want) 

This project is SUPER easy... all you do is Paint !! :) You may have to apply a few coats depending on the color of your paint. 

And here is the final project....( the "O" is Charcoal grey, although you can't tell in this pic)

CANVAS ART: 

Items Used:

Acrylic Paint (whatever colors you want) 

A round sponge brush 

A 16x20 canvas (you can use whatever size you want) 

Step 1:   I used 2 round sponges (one for each color) At the top of the canvas I tried to keep the circles close together and then toward the bottom I tried to space them out. I used the Grey circles first, and then after I had the grey down, I used the purple. To add some different colors, I also used a white Acrylic paint and with my finger I just rubbed the white in the middle of the purple and grey dots. ( I just picked a few dots to do this to). The bottom of the canvas I actually used my finger to make the smaller dots since I didn't have a sponge that small. 

And here is the final project.... (not what I had envisioned in my head) but it still turned out cute. Just something to put on a wall for decoration. 

Well it's been a busy and fun day! Hanging out with my husband this afternoon (which was a blast) and then while he was at work I had fun making all of these Christmas gifts. 

I hope that the steps for the projects help you if you want to branch out and try any of these. I have never blogged steps to one of my craft projects so hopefully they aren't to complicated to understand :) 

Well it's time to watch "The Grinch" with my husband!! :) Have a great night y'all !!!