A Very Pinteresting Christmas Day 15: For the Teachers

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I can't believe today is the last day of 2013's A Very Pinteresting Christmas. I have had so much fun bringing you all the food, fun and crafts that I have found on Pinterest this year. If you missed any of my days, be sure to go back and check them out. Today is for the Teachers in my life, I mean my children's lives. I love those special people.

I made Peppermint Puppy Chow and Crow Bars for B's teachers and found these cute little Chevron bag toppers to go on the snack size baggies. How cute are these?  Perfect for a 13 year old boy to give to his Middle School techers, not too babyish, but then again the teachers still know his Moma made the treats so they are safe to eat. They even had guides to help me cut them perfectly. KUDOS to balancinghome.com! 

Miss K's teacher gets this:

I'm pretty pumped about this one. If you recall on Day 7, I told you about the craft we made during the Pinterest Party. It was these chalkboard clipboards. I followed the same exact steps but made my own template with her name and stick figure. I figure she can use it as a decoration outside her door or actually use it to take notes on. 

I prepared the clipboards ahead of time. I really do like the spray chalkboard paint.

Then I used wax paper, wax side down. The direction called for transfer paper. I still do not have a clue what transfer paper is. Then I centered the design sheet over the wax paper/clipboard and begin tracing over the letters with a pencil. 

 The wax left an impression like this.

I took a fine point white paint pen and when over where I had traced. Once dry, I lightly sanded over the letters to give it more of the chalk effect. 

Thank you for tuning in each day this week as I brought you "A Very Pinteresting Christmas" Linkup and if you have any Pinterest inspired activities throughout the week, be sure to grab the above button and linkup your ideas! "A Very Pinteresting Christmas" was 15 days of Pinterest inspired food, fun, crafty days of linkups that all can be used during this wonderful season of joy. It ran from December 2-20 here at The 4-Crow's.

The Crafty Crow: I Made a Chalkboard

I wanted a chalkboard. For my kitchen. One that I could write cutesy messages on, maybe even a planned menu. I had seen all the ones floating around on Pinterest that were DIY, cut this board, that board, hammer this and that. I am not one to go to that extreme. Or even have certain tools to accomplish that task. I decided that I wanted to upcycle. Time to go into junk gypsy mode. I decided a mirror would be fun. My friend's husband found two matching mirrors at a garage sale for $5 each. He isn't the type to talk the seller down so my mirror ended up being $5. 

I have to show you now my finished project, then I'll tell you the HOW. 

WaaLaa....

This is the chalkboard paint to use. $3.97 at Wal-Mart. I also used another can in matte Burgundy for my frame. Same price. You will also need some painters tape. 

source

It would have been 100x easier if I could have separated the mirror and frame on this project. It was a no go. So I had to tape it off. I did the chalkboard paint first. DO NOT let your daughter get grass seed in it. I let it dry then had to sand out the grass seed (this was just an extra totally unecessary step), then I sprayed another coat of chalkboard paint. I let it dry overnight. The next day I sprayed it with the burgundy. Let it dry. Then took the chalkboard paint and lightly sprayed/misted/dusted it over the entire surface. Then to distress it, I took the sandpaper that had the chalkboard paint on it from the previous day and went over all the edges. I love the the black and brown contrasts throughout the mirror. 

Wanna see my new chalkboard again? 

Before using, you will need to season. Just take the wide side of a piece of sidewalk chalk and then erase. I chose to use Chalkboard Markers on mine. I do not want chalkboard dust in my house to clean up. These markers wipe off easy with a wet towel. You can get the markers at Hobby Lobby for $12.99, but remember you can use a 40% of coupon!!!

My friend hasn't made hers yet. Can't wait to see it. Do you have a DIY chalkboard project? Leave a link and show it off.