2nd Chalkboard Wall Art Project & Chandie

9 years ago

2 things here.

The first is the 2nd Chalkboard Wall Art that I tried my hand at today for one of our kids B-Day's. I really like how it turned out. (PS - the green bureau is a project half done. Don't be scared that I've lost my mind!).

The 2nd thing is that to anyone else except you guys, this would sound insane, but, there are times when you realize that something in your home always becomes the centerpiece of something special. It could be a punch bowl that comes out at every special occasion, a throw pillow that is the one item that turns every sofa or LR you've had into home and so on. For me it seems to have become my $10 yard sale chandie. Yeah, that one some of you may remember from a few Springs ago. The one that I still find crystals in my mini-van from. It becomes the centerpiece of everything.

I had to laugh when I was putting he pennant banner together. I anticipated that it might be 12 pennants or so based on the instructions. Turned out to be more like 120 so I asked my MIL who is admittedly not interested in anything like arts and crafts to help me put it together. I knew that she would to spend time w/ me but I'm sure she must have thought that I was crazy.

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Comments (19)

Annie Deighnaugh
9 years ago
Wow!
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Diane Smith at Walter E. Smithe Furniture
9 years ago
So talented!

And I think the green chest is adorable as-is. But I have a fondness for green...
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A little more: So cute. Are your framed plane pictures matted? When I look closely it looks like they're either matted or there's a width of frosted glass or something that is not quite as white as the print. If they are matted, and the wall color is staying yellow, I would suggest taking them out and either painting them, or covering them with fabric, to something that will help seed them on the wall a little more. (I've both painted and used fabrics to change the color/texture of matting -- in the end there's no real difference other than the texture that fabric can add). Unless my color is off, I don't think those (look like/white) sheets are going to really tie in with the (looks butter) wall color. Maybe a red/blue/white/yellow stripe, or a plaid or something, or contrast the wall color with a navy or red/white stripe. Though it looks those sheets _would_ tie in to the shades, if you end up wanting to keep those (they look lime on my monitor as well). You could always go with blue walls. :) HTH
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Linda, your home is lovely as is. IMO, if you darken the cabinets in a room without much natural light, it may get claustrophobic. I like the airiness you currently have and if you absolutely must redo the cabinets, could you consider lightening them or going off-white to work with your appliances? But leaving them as is works well since they blend with the lighter toned woods throughout. Try new hardware before stain or paint. It's a relatively inexpensive way to provide fun and oomph! Consider changing the dark valance to either a valance or roman shade in the colors you love -- watery aqua & chocolate wide stripe or print -- but only if you slip-cover the sofa and chairs. A flat, non-shirred valance in aqua banded in chocolate might look fresh. You can then slip-cover the sofa in a less imposing tone and reupholster the chairs in a complementary print. If you stay with the current upholstery, then pull your valance colors from the chairs, rug & marble. I'd opt for the simpler style my3dogs used in her office/sewing room. Stick with a solid and contrasting band so they don't compete with the chairs. Your wall color can then flow from the valance colors. Just remember, one change usually leads to many others as each component impacts the whole. I'd reposition some of the furniture to make the most of what you have. Try putting the lamp and table on the other side of sofa so that the area opens up a bit. Or you could place the table between the chairs and exchange with the smaller lamp, but in any event you still need to get the sofa as far away from the tv wall as it will go so it doesn't seem so squished. The area on the tv wall to the left of the fireplace is calling for a large airy palm or another tall plant. And the TIVO storage is too close to the lovely buffet. A mantle might be nice but you definitely need a large beautiful print over the fireplace in colors and theme that makes YOU feel peaceful and happy. The storage box under the window in the breakfast area is disproportionally small. Can you find or make a console (even a shelf ledge that will fit) even if you need to keep the storage under it? On my monitor your neutral paint looks good from the hall. If you change colors, I wouldn't go darker than the 2nd color on any of the strips. My preference would be #2 on the last strip or #2 on the 2nd photo. Let your upholstery decision and marble tones guide. Please buy a $5 SW sample and put a large swatch up for several days so you can live with it in all light conditions before you decide. Most of all, enjoy the process of finding what brings you and your husband joy in this phase.
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Thanks all. The mirror and large pencil drawing (my 1st college art class final project) stay where they are as does the large Karl Blechen print over the server table. I love the way the large Karl Blechen print looks as you enter the dining area. Now since I do not own this house I will not be adding a chandelier but for $35 from Home Depot I changed out the ceiling fan light kit. It used to be a school house style fixture - yuck! I will probably move 3 frames to the guest bedroom and then play with the arrangement of what I have left over to see how it all looks. With the exception of my art (I also have tow other drawings in this room) and a piece by my daughter who is also a talented artist, everything else is a print or something I found on the internet. One of the photos I found has a special meaning. The day I moved here to live while I was waiting at the WI airport I picked up a newspaper that was laying around. In it was a pic taken at the base of a very tall palm tree in the jungle, Puerto Rico, I think. When I finally had my internet access about 6 weeks later, I actually found the newspaper story online in the arcives and saved the photo. To me it was like a mini sign - of warmer places to come. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!! This is my 2nd Christmas in AZ. I am very blessed and thankful to be here. TYG! Eileen
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Thank you so much! She's my youngest baby and my other children are adults living on their own, so we do get to spend a lot of special time together. Usually baking (see pics of our latest tasty treats below), but sometimes doing these fun artsy projects. I did show her the cartoon style picture on my phone and she really liked it a lot, which is what gave me the idea of making it into a picture for her room. She picked out the turquoise ombre cake, the banner material, and the flower, so I think she would like wall art showing off her own personal style and "creation" :) Plus, she loves donuts and those just happened to be on the gift bag in the pic! We were baking all last weekend - our own version of nesting while waiting for my oldest daughter to deliver her baby boy. Luckily, she gave birth before I gained a few hundred pounds from eating the fruits of our labor, lol! This is "death by chocolate zucchini bread" and "salted caramel chocolate chip cheesecake" (with homemade caramel made by DD). I found both recipes on Pinterest and they were delicious!
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mtnrdredux_gw
9 years ago
Oh my gosh, love love. Of course I am a FoxesPad groupie. I still remember your christmas vignette from years back.

I love chalkboard walls, but every time I see them I think, yeah, well, ... all well and good for artsy types but in our house it would just look stupid. YOU however, are the kind of person for which such things are made. Great job on the birthday sign! So cool. I am jealous.

Actually the whole thing together, including the cute girl in the swirling fuchsia dress, is so artful and of the moment. It looks like a catalogue shoot.

Oh and great name, I have a Liam, too!
User
9 years ago
Foxes you're so talented. It took me a min. to realize that was your house!

Great work! And that's a wonderfully impressive chandy.
peony4
9 years ago
Yes, I wish I could hire you to come over and perform your magic on my chalkboard wall. Yours is really, really wonderful. Mine is... well... let's say I had to hide the chalk from my kids.

We recently hosted a dinner party, and I was busy working on the details, and it went something like this:

Harried mom + middle school humor + chalkboard wall = awkward moments when guests arrive.

I loved the idea when I installed it in my kitchen, but it's a lot more work than I envisioned.
cat_mom
9 years ago
peony4, LOL!!!!

Your pics/decorations/and almost magical chandelier, look picturesque, whimsical, and FUN!!!
martinca_gw sunset zone 24
9 years ago
Love all you do. You DO have a very special eye !
User
9 years ago
Stunning...c
loribee
9 years ago
Amazing, looks fab!
teeda
9 years ago
Wow. You need to copyright your photographs. Then you need to start a blog. I'll be the first to subscribe!
teeda
9 years ago
Delete duplicate post.

This post was edited by WMA89 on Sun, Aug 3, 14 at 8:27
User
9 years ago
Fabulous birthday sign, Fox!!! The sheer size is impressive enough, but the artistry of the sign is incredible!! That chandelier was a defining moment for you in more ways than you realize, because that is when I (and many others, no doubt) realized you were no mere mortal :-)

I have had a gilt framed blackboard in my kitchen for at least 20 years. It started as a menu board, to prevent four sets of "what are we having for dinner tomorrow night because I might be invited to the Haslam's" and ended up as a small welcome sign for special guests, seasons, parties, etc. I've gotten so lazy I left it with "Merry Christmas" once for two and a half years (the housekeeper finally shamed me not changing it when a child was coming home on first break from college). Despite the fact that we had an alumni party last night I still have the sign welcoming tour Russian guests from almost three months ago, so you can see why I am in complete awe of your WALL, some of us can't manage a 24" x 30" !!

Peony, having had three middle schoolers I can fill in the blanks of your story quite easily...oy!
nosoccermom
9 years ago
Wow, I love this! What a wonderful birthday announcement. Your kid must be so thrilled! Agree that the first picture looks extremely artistic with the colors and composition. You should submit it to a photo competition. Seriously.
busybee3
9 years ago
how fun and festive!!! i miss the birthday party days...

a chalkboard wall must be lots of fun... love the dinner party story, peony- a different type of fun memory--- sure to become funnier and funnier as more time goes by!!!
ttodd
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you all very much! You guys do fuel my creativity!

This last time I came up w/ the idea to section the wall off using black chalk (my mom supplies the kids w/ copious amounts of chalk in lots of different colors). It made the work sooooo much faster and easier!

Deedee - no worries w/ the green chest! The only reason that it is only half finished is because I haven't bought the clear glaze yet to age it. I love how bright it is but I was surprised (and a bit disappointed) when the white showed through. I knew that as as soon as I put a brown glaze on it would not be right so I am mixing a custom glaze in deep green to age it w/.

Mtnrdredux -
I confess to having an entire Irish Gang and the wearing O' the Kilt is a proudly held tradition by the men.

Peony4 -
That's funny about hiding the chalk from the kids & your dinner party! I had a terrible time trying to get my kids to stop writing on the walls. Finally I resorted to making them begin scrubbing the walls themselves when I caught them. One day I found DS2 writing on a freshly painted white wall w/ orange marker. I promptly got out the bucket and scrub brush and gave to him. Before I even had a chance to get back to my desk he declared "I'm done!". I grabbed the marker and saw that it was a washable marker. In a fury I grabbed a black industrial sharpie and scribbled on the wall and yelled "Now scrub this!". As soon as I came to my senses we all had a great laugh and it's now a favorite family story to recount "Remember the time mom flipped and wrote all over the walls?!".
After that I decided to out think them and did the blackboard wall for them and said 'Have at it!'.

I can only imagine what will end up on it during the teenaged yrs. One of the things that I like to do is have the kids draw on it for the Thanksgiving dinner that we host. I love to see what they come up w/. The first year was Pilgrims, Indians, turkeys, spaceships and lasers. Lots of things on fire. It's always quite the conversation starter every year.

kswl -
I'm telling you - I must have looked like quite a sight running down the street to my van w/ that chandelier in my hands dropping crystals as I went shouting "I'll be right back! I promise!" over my shoulder. I left my kids standing in their yard to let them know I was serious about coming back.
I erased my Christmas art yesterday morning to do this. It does tend to hang around for awhile!!!!!
Holly- Kay
9 years ago
Foxes, I love it! What a grand idea.

When I was a young girl my bedroom was painted white. I was always drawing or coloring. My DM painted my room white, of course white walls was an unspoken invitation for the devilish little artist in me to spring forth. Needless to say DM was not at all pleased with this little artist. I only wish she had thought to paint at least one wall in my room with chalkboard paint. Thanks for bringing that memory back to me!
Fun2BHere
9 years ago
I agree that the first picture looks like it came straight out of a catalog. If your children are as artistic as you are, I would probably love to have their art on my walls!
ttodd
Original Author
9 years ago
Holly-kay -

When I was young elementary school aged my mom and I lived w/ my grandparents off and on for a few yrs. She provided me w/ a front attic bedroom w/ no heat and a box of crayola crayons. She just handed me the box and said that I was allowed to do whatever I wanted on the walls.

Even though it was a 'catch-all' room for her that she put a bed in for me, I spent so much time up there drawing on the walls in my own little world.

My family always encouraged me to draw and I always thought that by giving me the lesser 'quality room' for the sole purpose of letting me draw all over the walls was one of the most thoughtful things that my Nana ever did for me.
User
9 years ago
"I left my kids standing in their yard to let them know I was serious about coming back. "

Lol, foxes pad, you are a woman after my own heart! Your kids will tell that story to their grandchildren!

2nd Chalkboard Wall Art Project & Chandie

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