An Easy DIY Chalkboard Canvas

I promise I'm still here. Last week was just one of those tough weeks that included a pretty sick little boy.  Thankfully Silas is feeling much better, we have gotten some rest and things are feeling back to normal.   Honestly, taking an impromptu break from the blog was actually kind of nice for me.  I really was able to think about some different ideas and projects that I want to do and continue to try and learn some new bloggy things, so I was good with taking a break.  I have a a full week of blogging ahead to make up for last week and I'm looking forward to it.

I have a quick and easy project to share today as well as a few random weekend happenings.  First up is an easy chalkboard canvas.  This project actually comes via my sister.  A couple of weekends ago we had a big spray painting party and worked on a few things together.  My sister had this large canvas she wanted to change up and decided to try her hand at her first chalkboard project.  I was of course excited since I love a good chalkboard.  Here's the canvas before...

Just and old canvas print she had from a while back.  A couple of coats of chalkboard paint later and it was looking good.

My sister is kind of a newbie when it comes to spray painting but she learned quickly that lighter coats are better.  Spray paint can gloop and glob quickly so you just need to keep your can moving and keep the coats light to get the best coverage.  I believe though after this that she has caught the spray painting bug.  After it was all dry she decided on the text she wanted and we were done.  This was super easy.

Soon I'm going to grab some photos over at my sisters house so you can see where the canvas ended up.  They had this crazy design dilemma that I think they conquered well so I'm eager to share it.

Okay, on to some random things.  I think being gone a week from the blog is causing me to over share today.  I just missed connecting with all of you!  So, is it spring anywhere?  Because here in NC we have been thrown back into winter - its strange and we are so anxious for warmer weather.  Even so, we had a big easter egg hunt at our church this weekend.  We were glad to get Silas out of the house even if we had to be inside the gym to hunt eggs - it was so much fun for Silas.

Oh, this also occurred at our house this weekend.  This is not a new gallery wall technique - its a little thing called March Madness.   Each year Justin holds a big bracket challenge and the best and most fun way to do it is by hanging them all over your living room walls.  Its just a tradition that started a while back and has continued from house to house.  Lets just say that this year my brackets are awful.  I'm just pulling for Florida Gulf Coast to win it all now.

It feels so good to be sharing here today.  I have some more projects to share this week, a guest blogger, some garden inspiration and some more blog updates all happening.  Come back and visit with me!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  How was your weekend? Any crazy March Madness traditions for you?  Share with me!

Wall of Integrity

This is not a how-to on creating a really amazing picture/photo wall as seen here.  No, this is a result of March Madness,  and yes those are NCAA Tournament brackets covering our living room wall (aptly named the "Wall of Integrity" to be exact.  I'm not sure how this started but I believe Justin has been creating this masterpiece in our living room for each tournament for the past four years.  This year we have a total of 55 brackets collected from various people we know, many of them from our students.  After each round of games comes to an end Justin takes to highlighting wins and crossing out losses - it's quite a job but he is dedicated.  So, how are we doing so far?  Terrible, probably the worst year yet.  We do however have a baby (yes our son) that is in the lead.  Somehow Justin devised a way for Silas to choose his own picks (some sort of block choosing method) and he is beating everyone and Justin could not be more proud.  We take our NCAA tournament seriously around here so this is a big deal.  I think he has given up on his own bracket and is purely cheering on Silas'.  Is this something we will continue to do in our next home?  Who knows?  It's actually pretty fun and gives me a way to get in on the basketball action.