DIY Chalkboard Wall {Tutorial}

Yesterday I shared our updated playroom. Not quite sure what the name for this room should be. Tween Room, Hangout Room, Bonus Room?  Anyway, I knew that I wanted to do a chalkboard wall for the kids to be able to draw on and convinced the Mr. to help me with the project.  Thought I would share our step-by-step directions for anyone else who might be thinking about a similar project!

Step 1: 

With a lot of patients and the help of a level we taped off the size we wanted the chalkboard to be. Ours is about 65x45.

Step 2: 

I read a lot about different types of chalkboard paints and decided that pretty much any of them would work just fine for what I was doing.  I ended up going with the Rustoleum brand because I've used a lot of their products in the past, but I think they all work about the same. 

As I started painting it looked more navy blue than black, but once it dried it was black. I did about 3 coats just to make sure it was good and covered! 

Step 3: 
Let it dry! It says to wait at least 3 days for the chalkboard finish to be done. That wasn't a problem for us. We got busy and had to wait about 2 weeks!

Step 4: 

I knew I wanted the chalkboard to be framed so that it looked like it was hanging on the wall and the Mr. helped with this step. He got 1x3 trim boards and cut them to fit around the chalkboard.  We painted them first using the same color as our interior doors (Backdrop by Sherwin Williams) and then hung them up.  

Step 5: 

Before using the chalkboard it had to be conditioned.  Following the directions on the paint can we coated the entire surface with chalk. Basically hold a piece of chalk lengthwise and rub it all over the chalkboard paint.  I have no idea what difference it makes if you do this step or not, but it said to do it so that is what we did.  I got the girls to help me! 

Step 6: 

After coating the entire thing with chalk, you erase it all entirely and then your surface is ready to draw on.  As I was erasing they were both like, "that is so satisfying" which just cracked me up.  Not sure if your kids use that word or not, but it's the new lingo amongst the youngins these days and I don't know why but it cracks me up. 

Step 7: 
Draw, color and have fun!  They are loving the chalkboard and it makes me so glad that I decided to do this project in the room.  Directions on the paint say it can be wiped clean with a wet cloth, but then it should be conditioned and erased (steps 5 and 6) before using it again. 

We hope everyone has an amazing weekend!!!

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Christmas Home Tour

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times on here...I just love this time of year!  I have been excited about decorating our new house for Christmas ever since last Christmas.  That will always be remembered as the year when all of my decorations were packed away in our storage unit and we were basically still living out of suitcases.  Yep, this Christmas has a very special meaning because we are settled in our new home!

I reserved the day after Thanksgiving for putting out all of my Christmas decorations.  I spent from about 10 AM - 10 PM doing it, but was happy to have it all done in one day.

I already shared the new wreaths I made on my pine cone post, but here they are, one more time!

In our entry way I added my red berry wreath that used to hang on our single front door above the table.  I am hoping for a large family portrait to hang in that spot after the Christmas craziness slows down, but for now I love having the wreath there!

I found the cute little Christmas tree candles at Wal-Mart, as well as, the red burlap runner. It came on a big roll and I just cut the amount needed to fit the table.

Also in our entry way I have a tiny little tree.  It's nothing special, but I love seeing it lit up at night there.  One year when we were living in Florida and coming back to Atlanta for Christmas we had decided we weren't going to do a Christmas tree.  It was pre-kids and since we do a live tree we didn't want to deal with the mess of it since we wouldn't even be home for Christmas.  Well, my sweet Mother-in-law gave us this little one so we could at least have some sort of tree up that year!  I love putting it out each year and remembering that. :-)

Next comes my kitchen.  I took this pictures last week because my pine cone wreaths are still up.  Sadly, they kept falling (they were just too heavy for the command hooks I used) and I haven't had time to fix them yet.

A few years ago, Jen and some of our friends did one of those painting nights at Christmas time and we all painted Christmas canvases. I love wreaths so that's the one I picked.  It's a fun to pull it out each year and remember that night with my friends.  Our elf must like it, too, because that is the spot he chose to sit yesterday.

I keep all the Christmas cards we get in this red wire basket.  It sits right on the counter all month long because the kids love grabbing it and looking through all the pictures of the friends and our family.  I've been thinking about switching it up and finding a way to display the cards, but haven't come up with anything brilliant yet. Anyone have ideas they could share???

Of course, my chalkboard gets a Christmas makeover, too! 

More pine cones on our kitchen table and more of that red burlap as a runner, too!  I also add Christmas pillow to the bench to have little touches of the season everywhere possible.

I added a garland, red candles and accessories to the fireplace in the keeping room.

And I put out all the kids Christmas books in a basket so they are ready to read at a moments notice.

My antique hutch holds a Christmas platter that belonged to my grandmother and our nativity.

And here is another view of the keeping room and kitchen and the fun chevron pillows I picked up from Hobby Lobby. They are such a deal and I wrote all about them HERE.  

The playroom is full of fun and cute stuff to make that room more festive.  A tabletop tree my mom gave me to brighten up my dorm room during Christmas my freshman year of college and little stuffed animals...

Their Christmas countdown...

Christmas paper chains the kids made that were a gift to them last year...

Some of their sweet artwork from over the years...

And the Hallmark singing snowman collection that they just love playing with.  Hallmark puts out a new one each year and they are so cute.  I had more, but sadly they got ruined while in storage. Thankfully these still work though!  

Our dining room gets a makeover with traditional red and green (and more pine cones...are you noticing a theme this year)? :-)

Lastly for the first floor is our living room.  This is where we spend most of our time in the evenings, watching TV and where we will gather Christmas morning.  The kids were funny asking which chimney Santa would come down since we have two, but they decided he would come down the one with the stockings and know that was the place to put all their presents.

The kid's stockings are from Pottery Barn Kids and I have been toying with the idea of getting the hubs and I ones to match. Honestly though, the ones we have coordinate, color wise, and I have a hard time spending money on them when the ones we have are just fine.  Plus, I have a little attachment to the pair we've have had since we were newlyweds!

We don't have a designer tree.  Instead, it is filled with ornaments that have lots of meaning to each of us. Some are those that my hubby and I have from our own childhoods and others are ones the kids have began to collect each year.  I also proudly display the handmade ornaments the kids bring home from school each year and love those most of all!

Each of the kids have trees in their room that they just loved helping to decorate.  They all sleep with them on as their night-lights each night for the entire month!

And there you have it...that's our Christmas house.  The outdoors at night is my favorite. There aren't tons of lights or elaborate decorations, but it looks so pretty lit up and I love driving up in the evenings and seeing this view!

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Indoor Fall Decor

I get so excited about the changing of seasons and the new upcoming holidays that go along with that.  I love fall, but I also love Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, etc.  I guess I pretty much love any excuse to decorate the house, dress my kids in theme-wear, and go all out.  I know you ladies love decorating for holidays, too, because our Instagram feed is full of all sorts of really great fall decorating ideas!  

I like to keep most of my fall decorations things I can easily switch from Halloween to Thanksgiving with simple little changes like touches of ribbon.  I'll probably add a few things here and there over the next month, but here is a little tour of the indoor fall decor at my house! 

On our entry way table I just added some black and white gingham ribbon to my lamps, to my lantern and mercury glass, switched out the white candle for an orange one and add a few fall sprigs to my greenery.

Also, I add the customized printed burlap pumpkin sign that Jen made for me.  I found this neat wooden and tin frame at Michaels on clearance for $8 and thought it would look great with the print.  I LOVE the personalized touch it adds to this table.  (P.S. - You can find this print in our Etsy shop - HERE).

 In my kitchen on the island I have a little bowl of pumpkins (that were a Wal-Mart find years ago) and of course I had to switch out all of my hand soaps around the house for fall inspired scents from Bath and Body Works!

I fill this glass pumpkin with candy corn and would y'all believe this thing was filled to the brim about 4 days ago?  I haven't had one, but I can't say the same for everyone else in my house.  

I made these fabric pumpkins a years ago and love spreading them out around the house. 

I've collected lots of pumpkins over the years so I like to just add them into what I already have on top of tables or consoles with some fall colored candles for an easy switch. 

 I add some fall sprigs to the vase sitting on my dining room table and also more candles on leaf-shaped plates wrapped with more fun fall sprigs.

Because I have kids and because Halloween is definitely a holiday for children I do include some traditional orange and black Halloween decor.  My chalkboard got a fun transformation.  

And my antique hutch became the spot for all of the other orange and black goodies.

 And one last thing I do for the kids is have a big basket filled with all of the books about Halloween, fall, and Thanksgiving.  I love it because the books are out and readily available for the kids to look at and and they get so excited to read them each year.

The other thing I keep in this basket that I pull out each year is this little photo album.  In it I add a picture of the kids dressed in their costumes each year and they have so much fun looking back at themselves dressed up when they were younger.  

 And before I head off to wake up sleepyhead Boo-Boo, I have to share this little sneak peek with you.

See that little head poking out?  He was awfully curious as I was taking pictures.  This little guy joined our family over the weekend so I can't wait to share more about him later this week. :-)