Dining Room Plate Wall.

First post of May & it's Cinco De Mayo!
Plates plates plates! 

For the past few months I have been keeping my eyes peeled, thrift store after thrift store, for an eclectic collection of plates. With no set in stone plans or ideas what exactly I was looking for, I set out with a general idea. I soon found myself loving the ornate blues and rustic reddish/brown tones of some of the plates I was coming across. 

The dining room is still a work in progress, that is a given, but with a new GIANT dining table, chairs & now my 'did it myself' plate wall, it is beginning to look like a room that I would love to host family dinners in every night! This is how it turned out! 

I will be keeping you updated on the progress being made in this room but Not to shabby for now! I'm beyond in love! I can't wait to get a dinette table for underneath! 

What do you think of my Plate Wall?

Hope everyone had a beautiful weekend, take this last day & do something crafty, while enjoying a margarita! ;) Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Back to the garage, so many projects in the works!

Amanda

DIY Chalkboard

I've been meaning to get to this post for a while now!

As of late, Chalkboarding seems to be the trend. You can't go into any home decor stores without spotting something that has been chalkboarded up!

My motto, Why buy when you can do?!

After exploring all the chalking possibilities I decided to go in a more traditional direction. I needed a chalkboard that could go in my kitchen & still keep to my rustic feel of my living room being that it is all one big open space. 

My original plan was to make a magnetic chalkboard for the side of my Island, so when a little older,my son, could use this as his magnet letters space, rather than adding clutter to my fridge. However this plan only made it as far as paper. I opted not to attempt this due to I didn't want to take on the hastle of cutting a sheet of metal while the hubs was no where to be found. If you are more daring than I, this would be a great idea for a family with children! 

Instead a friend of mine, Jordyn 'Petunia' Pruitt ;)Inspired me with her DIY chalkboard. {Link to Jordyns Chalkboard Post & Blog Here!} Check it out!Thanks Jordyn for the inspiration!

I did a little tweaking & adding to make my chalkboard creation my own unique creation. 

& Here is what I came up with!

You likey???

You can make your chalkboard in any size, shape, for any room & may be used to jot down many things! Mine normally has our dinner menu for the entire week but I am currently chicken scratching down my To do's for the day! (Helps me to visualize a bit better..)

Here is what you will need:

1. A Thin sheet of wood. This is for the actual chalkboard itself I found the thinner the better, Any size will do! Sand the front down, so it is smooth & clean the surface before first coat of chalkboard paint!

2. Chalkboard paint. I used Valspar spray chalkboard paint. ( At least 3 coats) To save a bit of time (I'm impatient) I would prob opt to not use the spray paint next time and instead paint it on myself. If you decide to do this.. I suggest using a roller to avoid streaks from a paint brush.

3. Thin Strips of wood for a border. At lowes they sell individual strips such as the ones I used, but if you would like a more decorative board you could purchase base board edging or any decorative molding as well!

4. Wood glue.

5. Wood Stain. I used Rustolium- Dark Walnut.

6. CHALK!

7. Final unique touches! I added a DIY Mossed Letter S to mine! (Maybe a future post? ;) )

& There you go! Assemble!

I have now been using my DIY Chalkboard for a good 3 weeks every week writing and erasing, writing & erasing, writing &... you get the point. I have found it has really held up quite nicely & adds a nice DIY touch to my kitchen!

Hope you like my DIY Chalkboard! I would love to hear your thoughts & see what you come up with!

Happy Wednesday!

Amanda

Staircase Gallery Wall

Recently my husband, son, pup & I have moved. Between toys, marine corp gear, a 60 lb german shepherd pup... and my shoe collection (;D), we had out grown our old home. So we picked up & upsized to a much needed bigger house!

When living on base in the military, you do not get to chose your home, your home chooses you, which doesn't always  go exactly the way you would like, but in our case we were very pleased with the home that chose us! 

A few days before the keys were handed over our way, we were given our new address, as excited/impatient as I am, I of course had to do a drive by.. My husband slowly drove past the vacant house (as I'm pressed up against the car window ha ha) There had been a cleaning lady in the driveway who had been preparing the house for our arrival. We circled the block a few times until she had left & then pulled into the driveway. Jim sat there, not planning to get out but to just admire from a far.. thats just not me.. so I hopped out and peaked threw all the windows I could reach! (yes, seriously! & for those of you who know me wouldn't expect anything less!) First thing that caught my eye was a wall leading up the staircase when you enter threw the front door. It is the focal point of the entry way & I feel sets the tone for the rest of the home. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! I immediately got to work! 

Without further ado.. this is the first peak into our new home, with our Staircase Gallery wall.

For my walls I chose to paint 2 different shades of gray to make the back staircase wall really pop, I chose the darker of the two. To get the eclectic rustic vibe I was aiming towards, I chose to do my gallery wall with mix matched frames, I first laid the frames out on the floor to determine the positioning, snapped a photo & put the hubs to work! I love the turn out & that now when you first walk in my home it feels so warm & my beautiful family is displayed right in front!

The possibilities for your personalized gallery walls are endless! 

I would love to hear what you think of my gallery wall!

& to see or hear what you have come up with in your own home! 

Amanda