diy — pleasure in simple things

Tag: diy

diy nautical chalkboard

August

repurposing an old skim board

Creating a ‘beachy’ looking chalkboard from an old skim board was a lot of fun! You can easily create one too…just follow my simple diy directions. I completed this project spending $0. I used all materials I already had at home.

When I saw my daughter throwing out her old skim board, it gave me the idea to turn it into a chalkboard. (Is there anything that hasn’t been turned into a chalkboard lol!) It would make the perfect birthday gift for my sister! She lives on the beach and is a weather fanatic…I wanted to make a chalkboard that she could use as a tide chart. She has an outdoor patio and I could picture the perfect spot for it in a protected area. It would also make a great menu board… an option when she entertains.

Supplies needed for project:

An old skim board check tag sales, Goodwill, or a sports consignment shop for an old one. New ones probably go for $35 – $40 dollars at Target…at this time of the year, here in the East, all the summer items are on clearance, so you many find one for much less
Can of chalkboard spray paint
Glue gun and glue sticks I used 4 or 5 of the small sized sticks
Old rope approximately 3 yards – measure around the outside of your skim board to come up with the yardage you will need, remembering to add some extra if you want to tie a knot at the end like I did. I had intended to look for rope at a marine store, but when I found this old one in the garage I thought it had more character (and it was free)
Drop cloth or old sheet to put the skim board on while painting
1 piece of white chalk

I did the spray painting outside…if you choose to, make sure it isn’t a windy day or you will have trouble with the spray paint.

A photo of the top detail on the skim board chalkboard. I knotted the end of the rope before glueing to add some visual interest.

Assemble your supplies.
Prepare skim board. I lightly sanded the surface figuring the paint would adhere better. I also washed it down with ammonia.
Paint skim board. Place the skim board on a large drop cloth or sheet. Spray the top side of the skim board according to the instructions on the chalkboard spray paint. Even though it suggested two coats, I did four – repeating the process a second time. It was probably overkill, but it was hard to tell after the first coat if I had covered every spot with the second coat.
Prepare skim board surface. As per instructions on the paint can, after waiting 48 hours, I took a piece of chalk on its side and covered the surface. Then, wiped it off.

A photo of the skim board after I sprayed it with the chalkboard paint and put on and wiped off the white chalk. The rope is an old one I found in the garage that I glued around the edge for a finishing touch.

Glue rope around edge. Just painting the skim board didn’t look finished to me, so I decided to glue a rope around the edge. I knotted one end as a decorative touch, and glued it near the top of the board. I continued using the glue gun to attach the rope all the way around. I glued a small section at a time holding the rope firmly to the skim board until it dried.

Done. THAT’S IT! And, it looks great, right? I chose to write on it before I gave it to my sister to show her what I thought she could use it for. I love it. And, I didn’t even spend one cent! Be on the lookout for old skim boards! There are plenty of ways you can add your own personal touches to it. You can add shells, driftwood, etc. or stencil on an anchor or a personalization. Happy skimming!

Thanks so much for visiting, Jackie

This project is being shared with Craftberry Bush Outdoor Linky Party and Celebrating Everyday Life for their recycled & repurposed diy project link party.

9 comments » | diy, gift ideas, sand & sea

caviar nails

August

college girl style trends

My college student daughter and I are always trying to recreate the latest fad. We love working together to find an easy and inexpensive way to figure out the latest trends. We figured out how to find the materials to attach feathers to the hair without the assistance of a salon…and, yes, we tried out hair chalking…our most recent project was caviar nails.

While shopping at Sephora together, we saw a caviar nail kit that was selling for $25. It provided all the materials necessary to create one of these caviar manicures. It is a 3-D effect where caviar-like beads sit on the nails. The nail sample next to the product was really neat looking. We loved the white one. I thought it would be a great manicure for a wedding. But, $25! It didn’t look like something that could be that hard to recreate…we were on a mission!

We scanned the craft stores to find some type of small bead to use as the ‘caviar.’ At the third craft store we visited, we found something called microbeads. They sell for $2 or $3 a bottle. Wow! They looked just like the ones on display at Sephora! The beads were located in the scrapbooking section, so apparently they are used in scrapbooking. They come in a huge assortment of colors. Even though we really liked the white, we decided to buy a set so we could experiment with different colors. The box of 6 bottles had an assortment of six colors and cost under $10.

A photo of microbeads used in creating a caviar manicure.

Well, our first attempt created the white manicure with very little effort. It only required some nail polish and the microbeads! Easy. Since we already had the polish and used a very small amount from one bottle of microbeads, it probably only cost pennies to create the caviar manicure.

This is how we did it:

FIRST applied white polish to nails.

THEN poured clear microbeads onto wet polish (putting a little bowl underneath to catch the extras – we just put these right back into the bottle)

That’s pretty much it. We put clear polish on top to protect the beads ( that changes the color a little bit).

We decided the caviar manicure was cool but should either be used for a special occasion, or just for one accent nail, since it doesn’t last more than a couple days before the beads start coming off. For best results, use a color polish that matches the bead color you decide to use…then any gaps between the beads aren’t noticeable. We tried black right away because we had some black polish on hand.

Caviar nails….conquered! Our next project: ombre hair!

Glad these trends are experimented on my daughter and not me ;)

Have you tried any trends with your daughter? Would love to hear about it! Thanks for visiting, Jackie

5 comments » | diy

diy painted glass vase

July

easy color-coordinated vase

Have you painted the inside of an old jar yet? It seems to be very popular right now. When I first started seeing them around, I had to laugh, because when I was young, painting old jars was something my friends and I would do at the summer playground when we ran out of all other craft materials…after exhausting all the supplies for making tile ashtrays and gimp keychains.

Over the years, I have painted an occasional jar as a nostalgic activity. I haven’t really been motivated to do it lately…not, that is, until I was in Anthropologie the other day and saw the many jars the store was using as props for their in-store displays. They had painted the insides of mason jars. But, rather than painting each jar a solid color, several colors were used in each jar. The result was almost a tie-dyed look. Using pastel colors in similar hues, I thought the effect was really beautiful.

With my coneflowers in full bloom, I decided to paint a jar in colors to coordinate with the color of the coneflower blooms. I have purple coneflowers, so I would use subtle shades of lavender and gray.

It is such an easy process…if you haven’t yet tried it, don’t feel intimidated. You can’t mess up :) Simply pour a little paint into the jar and swirl it around to cover the inside of the glass…that’s it!

I found out that my craft store plastic paint bottles were perfect for the multi-color application. I just squeezed the various colors into the jar and swirled them around. I added a little splash of silver too, just to add a little sparkle. You can control the pattern the paint creates by controlling which colors hit the glass first. Let some paint drip from the top to the bottom of the glass. Then, pour some paint in the bottom of the jar and swirl it around, tipping it to cover the sides.

If you make an experimental jar first, you can get the feel for how you can control the pattern of the paint covering the glass. I experimented on a couple of Snapple jars that were in my recycling bin, but I saved a mason jar for the vase I intended for the coneflowers.

The great appeal of this project is being able to create a vase in any color scheme you choose, at virtually no cost – repurposing old jars and leftover paint. It’s easy to instantly create a vase to match a color scheme for a party or a room in your home.

Give it a try! Please post a photo of your creation on my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/insimplethings

Note: I put a plastic cup inside the jar to contain the water. I don’t think the water sitting in the paint would provide a happy result ;)

3 comments » | diy

diy color-dipped wooden spoons

June

color fun in the kitchen

Would you like to create some fun, color-dipped, wooden spoons for your kitchen? Here is an easy how-to guide. I decided to make mine in black. Now, I realize black is technically not a color…’way back when’ in color and design class with Ms. Burns, I learned that black is the absence of color, but…I still call it my favorite ‘color’ and my kitchen happens to be black and white. Not only will black coordinate with the kitchen, but I love the contrast of it against the wood of the spoon.

A big part of creativity is always just knowing what products or services are available…hard to use a product if you don’t know it exists! Once you find a product that is new to you, finding uses for it is the fun part! With an open mind, you are sure to come up with some interesting results. That is the case with a product called Plasti Dip. It is a product that is available in the hardware store and is most often purchased to use on tools. It provides a rubber coating – usually used to put a grip onto a tool. I have made quite a few great discoveries walking the aisles of my local Home Depot. When I found Plasti Dip, all I could think about was jazzing up some wooden spoons!

A photo of black color-dipped wooden spoons created with Plastidip.

Okay, first I needed the wooden spoons. As I started looking for some in kitchen stores, I found that some individual wooden spoons cost as much as $5 or more. So, I headed out to HomeGoods and found a package of eight for $3.99. I purchased the Plasti Dip at Home Depot, but according to the Plasti Dip website, their products can be purchased at any Ace Hardware store.

Following the directions on the can was very simple…just dip the spoon into the product as instructed, and let dry. I used packaging tape to attach twine to the spoons and hung them up on the clothesline. Aren’t they great?I think pink would look awesome … particularly if you have a pink Cuisinart…or, how about a pale aqua for that beach house? The pre-made colors available are: yellow, white, red, clear, blue, and black. If you prefer to mix your own (orange, anyone?) color, this is easy by purchasing the ‘Create Your Own Color Kit.’

Have some fun with this product! I have plenty more to use to experiment and already have some ideas on how I will use the rest of my Plasti Dip!

To find a store to purchase Plasti Dip, or for more information on the product, visit their website: www.plastidip.com

8 comments » | diy

beachy pencil gift idea

May

mother’s day diy

I still enjoy a beautiful paper product and pretty writing utensils. I am sure this is also true for many women from older generations…our moms and grandmothers, can also appreciate these ‘old school’ items. Maybe pencils are a little nostalgic in this day and age, but I still think they make a nice gift; even if providing nothing else but a memory of a bygone era!

For this gift, I had white pencils imprinted and packaged them in a plastic tube for a practical and inexpensive gift idea. I used a beach theme and the imprints I ordered for the pencils related to my theme:

life is a beach
sand & sea
message in a bottle
sand under my feet
sand dollars and seahorses
gonna need a bigger boat (no, I didn’t really use this one)

In keeping with the beach theme, you could also use the name or names of your favorite beaches, names of songs related to the beach, or song lyrics (think Beach Boys), surfer lingo (hang ten, surf’s up), quotes, your mom’s favorite sayings (“it’s gonna freeze like that”, “kids day is every day”), etc. …you get the idea. The pencils I ordered had a maximum of 30 characters, so I planned accordingly. Maybe you already have some cool ideas for a Father’s Day set?

Ordering information for imprinted pencils is included at the end of this post.

I personalized a gift tag by putting a photo on one side and a favorite saying on the other. Then, I simply punched a hole in the corner to tie onto the gift.

Here is the finished gift…I tied on a piece of ribbon and raffia and attached the gift tag and a small sand dollar.

Ordering notes: I purchased the pencils at www.lillianvernon.com White pencils are item 800247 and a set of 12 is $9.99 (they were on sale for $5.98 when I purchased them). The same imprint is required on all twelve pencils, so you will need to order more sets if you want assorted sayings or quotes. If you are making more than one set, 24 pencils can be ordered for $14.99 on the same website as item 810260. Remember though, only one imprint per set. The plastic tubes came from www.thinkgarnish.com They are called ‘clear plastic tubes with caps’. (I have also used them for candy or straws.) They are priced at $1.60 each. Eight pencils fit nicely into a tube. Decide how many gift sets you want to make in advance so you can plan on the number of tubes and pencils and how many different imprints you will choose. I have already planned out some Christmas gift pencils that I will package without the tubes…more on that when I start my holiday projects. The gift tags I had personalized with my own beach photo (my favorite beach cottage…old black and whites of family beach trips work well also) and a favorite quote on the back. This is really easy to do online using www.cardstore.com Choose ‘stationery’ at the top of the site and then ‘personalized gift tags’. You can order 25 for $15. and incorporate your favorite photo. Put your imagination to work! Contact me if you have any questions or need ideas for a particular theme. Have fun with it!

4 comments » | diy, gift ideas, sand & sea

prank gone good

April

diy chalkboard magnets

I walked in the living room over the weekend to find my son’s interesting sense of humor in action…our front door (which is metal) was covered on the inside in magnets…you know, the free advertising kind of magnets…they are business card size? Apparently he picked up a few handfuls at some event he attended and thought it would be funny to load the door up with them. So, the next day, as I am removing the magnets (apparently, part of the joke was that he was not planning on removing said magnets) carefully so they didn’t scratch the paint, I am thinking that there must be something clever I can do with all these new- found magnets. I have often thought I would like to purchase magnetic sheets to experiment with, but I really didn’t want to spend the money on them. Now I have TONS for no cost to me (except spending a good amount of time removing them from my door).

Well, I was thinking of attaching pictures by printing favorite photos onto labels with a color printer and stick them onto the magnets, but couldn’t think of any metal surfaces I was interested in putting photos on. Then I remembered the chalkboard Con-Tact paper I had. When I discovered such a product existed, I had to have it, but have not ever put it to use. I originally thought I would use it for gift tags, but I have so many gift tags that I love already I never had reason to use it.

Now, the idea of using the Con-Tact paper on the magnets seemed like such a cool idea and SO SIMPLE to execute! I simply stuck the advertising side of the magnet to the Con-Tact paper and trimmed them appropriately. They are so easy to cut…

Here are some of the magnets I created….