CHALKBOARD DOOR TAGS

During my most recent trip to McKinney, we stopped at a shop called Gray Living.  Unfortunately, they were closed that day - it must have been their day to stock the shelves from the looks of all the boxes inside.  We were able to get inside a few days later - what a great store!

But, I wanted to make a couple of these chalkboard tags for my front doors.  Just think of all the fun occasions you could use these for!  They were made out of an inflexible metal and the price tag was steep - $125!  

So, I went to Home Depot to get a piece of wood that would work for this project.  I bought a 2' x 4' piece of wood.  I bought it awhile ago, but I think it was masonite.  It's like the stuff that the old fashioned "clipboards" are made of.  So, I just drew on the "tag" shapes - rectangles with the top corners cut at an angle . . .

Then trace about a 4" circle at the top - I used a tuna can for mine.

 Then cut them out with a jig-saw and sand the edges.

 Paint them with chalkboard paint - one coat was enough for mine.

 Then I sewed a band of burlap and looped it through the hole in the tag.  The hole of the tag sits on a nail and the top of the burlap hanger is attached at the very top of the door.

I finished mine off with a greeting that announces our birthday celebration.

One more thing.  I just bought the new issue of Romantic Homes and right in the middle of the magazine is an article on the McKinney shop, GRAY LIVING.   So, you can see for yourself what a great shop it is!

-Nan

Sharing on:
Air Your Laundry Friday

JAN AND BOB'S "GARDEN" IN MCKINNEY

Last year I did some posts on all the renovations at Jan and Bob's house in McKinney, Texas.  This time I have photos of their finished landscaping project.  I'm sure when spring blooms in McKinney, these shrubs and trees are going to fill out beautifully and it will look like a true Eden!

So, here's a walk through the garden with their dog, Molly!

I could hear this fountain bubbling away at night through the open window.  Beautiful!

This is the entry to the breakfast room.

 A view from the front patio.

Coming from Wisconsin in January, the green grass sure looked good.

 Molly loves the yard!  She wanders around all day - always with some little stuffed animal or toy hanging from her mouth. 

 The last photo is a whimsical one.  Tigger, the family cat, is a little camera shy - but how many cats do you know who have their owners build them a warm little cave to retreat to after their night-time wanderings?  And if you look at the bottom of the quilt, you can see a cord coming out of the cave - that's right - this little nest even has a heating pad!!!  

I'm not the only one who is pampered at the Barstads!

NINE CRAFTERS IN MCKINNEY

There are some great crafters in Texas!

One of the things Jan and I have been looking forward to the most during my visit, was a fun night of "making stuff" with her friends here in McKinney.  Jan has been a part of these nights on her visits to Wisconsin, but this time the creating was happening in her home.

I met seven lovely ladies tonight and we took on some great projects together.   

But before they arrived, Jan and I had some setting up to do.  We put together a stack of supplies at each place along with an instruction sheet for making gift enclosures and envelopes out of scrapbooking paper.   

 We also made tags for everyone wound with hand stamped "ribbon".  (More on that on another post.)

 You can download this envelope template here, and size it to fit your needs.

 All set . . .

A sample pack of gift enclosures, tied up with ribbon and a linen rose. 

 Everyone is here . . .

 so after a great dinner together we got right to work.

 Just look at the concentration on these faces!

 A pretty little ribbon rose.

And next . . . dressing up some plain wooden hangers to make a guest room extra special.  We painted them with Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint, lightly sanded them, and then stamped some pretty french words onto one "arm" of the hangers.

 

 I tried to remember to take lots of pictures in the middle of it all but I sure wish I'd gotten a picture of everyone's beautiful hangers all piled up together.  But here's a look at a few of them.

Everything would look pretty hanging on one of these . . .

 Just choose some pretty French words representing clothing and your guest room closet will look like no other!

 So that's it for tonight!  Thank you to Cindy P., Pam, Terri, Cindy L., Cathy, Sharon, and Mitzi for coming to Jan's tonight!  And a huge thank you to Jan for opening her home to ALL of us (and to her husband, Bob, for putting up with all this crafting business)!  

What a fun night - I truly enjoyed meeting every one of you.  I especially enjoyed listening to all those great southern accents all evening long!   I'm looking forward to next winter and another night of creating together!

(Cindy . . . you should stop in Brookfield on your way to Door County next summer!  I'm serious!)