From Classy Mirror To Funky Chalk Board!

Do you have a funky old mirror or frame sitting in a closet collecting dust? Re-purpose it and make a chalkboard message board!

 I had this awesomely creepy mirror that I have repainted endless times to match the latest decor.  I decided it was time to ditch the gloomy black paint and add a little fun!

You'll need:
Funky Mirror or Frame
Chalk-Board Spray Paint
Colored Spray Paint (and Spray Primer if going from dark to light)
Heavy Duty Magnets
Gorilla Glue

 Get out your drop cloth and head outside (or to a well ventilated space) It's hard to craft with a pounding headache from fumes!  Spray your frame and mirror.  *Hint: if your mirror is heavy, it might be easier to remove the glass and use something lighter like plastic or even heavy cardboard.

Once everything is dry, put the mirror back together.  My husband has never passed up the chance to use a screwdriver and screw so he was in charge of the hardware!
The couple who crafts together, stays together.

Next, we attached heavy duty magnets to the back of the mirror.  These magnets are the real deal. They came out of the hard drive of a computer. Super strong.  Stick them to the frame with Gorilla Glue. We used clamps and let the magnets sit in the glue until it had dried.

I decided to make a little basket to hold the chalk.  In the process I learned two things: 1) Buying sticks of chalk these days is waaay harder than I thought. 2) Apparently schools these days don't use chalkboards. So kids these days will never know the joy of eraser duty - smacking erasers together as a cloud of chalk dust covers you in a cloud and you struggle for air....anyways childhood problems..

 I got this little basket at a craft store and painted it with Folk Art Acrylic paint.

The only thing left to do is enjoy coming home to messages like this!  You could also write grocery lists and other productive things...but I have a sneaking suspicion we will use our message frame to play tic tac toe. 

M.

I Break for Yard Sales...and You Should Too!

The joys of summer are endless. Beaches, BBQs, clam bakes, tan lines, hot dogs, summer beers, the list goes on. But there is one summer happening that deserves more credit, appreciation, and excitement: YARD SALES.

We recently found this adorable elderly woman who was having a moving sale in her barn. Check out some of the goodies I found!

 The woman was an artist and had all these amazing books, brushes, and vintage art supplies. 

 Also found this awesome (and slightly creepy) illustrated bible.
And this beautiful book about American paintings.

 I hope this inspires you to "break for Yard Sales". You never know what treasures you might find!
M.

Snapshot: NYC

I recently traveled to NYC to see Old Crow Medicine Show and The Lumineers play in Central Park.  While there, we made stops at the 9/11 Memorial, Central Park, and the Summer Stage. Here are some photos from the trip:

M.

All photographs ©See Molly Create

DIY Baby Shower Gift

Have you ever had to go to Babys'R'Us to buy a gift for someones baby shower? I have, and it was terrible.  One of the most overwhelming experiences to date.  I never knew there were so many options for onesies, wet wipes, diapers, baby nail clippers, and bottle nipples.  Needless to say, I vowed that from here on out I would craft or paint my baby gifts and you should too!

Start with a 5"x5" wrapped canvas and paint a basic background color.

Next, draw a cute sketch on tracing paper.  We are using tracing paper so that we can transfer the sketch to the canvas.

 *Hint! if you fold tracing paper over the image you can see how changes would look. I did this to see how the elephant would look with a beach ball.

Place your sketch over your canvas. Once you find where you want the image to go, tape down the tracing paper a piece of painters tape.

 Grab some transfer paper! I like Sally's from Dick Blick.

 Place the graphite transfer paper, with the darker side down, under your sketch.  Use a fine pencil to "re-draw" your sketch. The force of the pencil forces the graphite on the transfer paper onto the canvas.

When you take the paper away you should have something like this:

Nifty huh?!

As you add color, think of it as a "color by numbers.  By leaving thin lines as separators, you can go back with your outline.

Wait to add your outline until all the colors are dry.  Then use a fine tipped brush and black paint to add an outline. Try this Outliner (sometimes called a Highliner brush) from Dick Blick.

Outlining can be stressful and tedious. Probably a good idea to outline BEFORE you have a cup of coffee.  Jittery hands make for jittery lines.

Pretty darn cute!

M.