Days of Chalk and Chocolate - All Post

Distressed Turquoise Table

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Hi Friends! I refinished a table this weekend  turning it from blah blue to a distressed turquoise. It was kind of a funny story. Jim isn't always so gung-ho about my decorating ideas. It's not that he's not supportive of my efforts it's just that in our long history together he has helped me undo many projects that were good in theory but not in practice. Picture re- sanding every cabinet door and box in our old house because I neglected to prime before painting them black and the paint peeled. He was a good sport and did it without a word but that's just one example. So sometimes I just surprise him and this table is an example. I wanted something bright for our foyer and decided I wanted teal/turquoise/peacock. I threw a can of teal spray paint in our cart while in Wal-mart nonchalantly.  He asked me what it was for and I said "Don't worry about it."

Fast forward to Friday afternoon. He walks outside with the AC repairman and sees our entry table in the back spray painted peacock blue. Surprise!  To his credit, Jim didn't say a word other than "Painting today?"




I blogged about this table months ago and you can read about it here.  Here is a quick run through.





I never felt the blue-gray. Our entry is boring and we aren't going to paint it any time soon. I needed something brighter in there.

I sprayed 2 coats of Krylon spray paint in Teal, sanding lightly between each coat. The next day I used fine grit sandpaper to lightly distress it and then I used a foam brush to coat it with Minwax Dark Walnut stain. I wiped the stain off and let it overnight. The day after that I rubbed on Minwax finishing wax in natural.

I am super happy with it!  I don't feel like the pics are an accurate portrayal of the color though. I tried in all sorts of light, with all sorts of camera settings, and it still looks too royal blue. Maybe I'll drag it outside one day.






Cheers!
Jenny

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Corn and Black Bean Salsa Recipe

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We had our neighbors over the other night and I was yearning to have something summery for dinner. I knew I wanted to do barbecued chicken but didn't want to do a typical side.  Luckily, I remembered my other friend had a recipe for a delicious corn and black bean salsa.  Perfect!  This is basically her recipe and I put my changes in the parenthesis. Thanks, Peggy for sharing your recipe! It was a hit and we all ate tons of it with baked Tostitos. Yum!  And it's not spicy so if you want spicy salsa I guess you'd have to add a jalapeno or two.






In a large bowl, stir the following ingredients:

1/2 large bag frozen shoe peg corn (1/2 large bag frozen regular corn)
1/2 red pepper and 1/2 yellow pepper, finely diced (1 large orange pepper)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch scallions, finely diced (1/3 large red onion finely diced)
1 tsp olive oil (2 tsp)
1/4-1/2 cup balsamic dressing (I used 1/4 cup of balsamic and 1/8 cup red wine vinegar because I ran out of balsamic. I would have used all balsamic if I had it)
I also added salt/pepper.  Stir and chill. Stir again before serving. Serve with tortilla chips or you can eat it like a salad too which is what we did too.










Action shot!


Aren't the colors lovely?  I had to snap this pic!

It's the perfect summer side dish!

Enjoy!
Jenny






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I'm the world's best teacher

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No lie. I am. I'm also the #1 teacher. I have proof. My mugs have it printed right on them so I know it is true. So since I am those things, you can't give those mugs to your child's teacher as an appreciation or end of the year gift because, well, it wouldn't really be fair. It's like when you were heading out to the bar/club and you didn't tell your skinny friend her butt actually did look big in those pants. Not an outright lie but not right nonetheless.

Soooo, what to do now? Buy her a gift card to Dunkin Donuts (or whatever your regional coffee love spot is) and that's that because A) we get paid to do what we do and we know you appreciate us because you don't send us ugly emails and B) we want free coffee. But if you are crafty (HA HA HA! IF? IF you are crafty? OMGosh that's a hoot. I see you with those book pages in your hand) here are some ideas of cool teacher gifts that I wish I had gotten as a teacher. Oh and if you are from NJ and reading this, reread it again at the end of June. blah.

Beverage Containers
Talking makes us thirsty.



Crayon Monogram Art (I really want this for my next classroom)
Probably not a good idea for high school teachers or college professors.  This has been around a while I know but it still makes me happy.

or

Pencil Monogram Art
(get the point?  heh heh)


Colored Pencil Vase
So happy looking, isn't it?


Chalkboard Pot and Seeds
Cute and useful!


Fabric Flower Pin
We can wear it with our holiday sweater vests.




Craft Bucket
Storage is always an issue in most classrooms and a neat container like this would always come in handy!



Wristlet
To hold our Dunkin Donuts gift cards.



If you aren't feeling your craft right now here is a list of things that teachers always seem to like (in my experience)

books--most teachers I know have to create their classroom libraries at their expense. It is hard to accumulate that many books. Any gently used books or new are appreciated.

Classroom do-dads--you can get these at teaching stores, Dollar Trees, and Staples. You know the stuff:  borders, shaped cut outs, stamps and stamp pads, stickers, cute magnets, etc. We buy that stuff ourselves  and it is so nice when we get some as a gift.

Breakfast--I once walked in and found a cup of coffee and a muffin on my desk. Best.morning.ever.

A letter praising us--I don't accept Christmas gifts unless they are homemade. I ask that if parents truly want to do something to show appreciation they can write a letter to my principal telling him/her so and why they feel that way. Then they can send a copy to the superintendent. It means so much!  This is so meaningful to us!

Movie tickets--I'm guessing I don't need to go into any detail about this. Free movies=good.

I guess my point is that we do what we do because we have to...it's who we are. We love your kids, we love teaching. A sweet, small gesture goes far and it shouldn't need to be a big glossy expensive gift to show us you appreciate us. 

Cheers!
Jenny

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Latest and Great Friday Link Party #30

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Features!

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Ahhhh, I just love features, don't you?  It's such fun to feel like a mini blog celebrity for 10 seconds!  WOO HOO!

Here are some faves:

Photo Transfers

What a sweet transformation!  And her transfer method looks easy!



Chair Makeover

You won't believe where this chair started! 


Chalk Paint Coasters

I think this is such a cute idea!  Everyone could write their names on their coasters to find their drinks.



French Door Makeover

So pretty!  And check out the other details too!


Fabric Storage

We teachers have used these things for years to hold craft supplies. So why don't I use one for my fabric now?  So smart!



And these wasn't a link up from last week's party but I think they are fab and wanted to share!

DIY Can Storage

I spent 20 minutes today trying to find a place to put something like this. I love love love it!


Kitchen Reveal

Shannon's kitchen looks like it came out of a cottage magazine!



Pantry and Kitchen

Her pantry is envy worth, cute, and polka dotted but WOW!  The rest of her kitchen rocks too!


Thanks to all who linked up!

Cheers!
Jenny

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Stenciled Rug

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Rainy day today. Got some craftin' done.  I'm not in a wordy mood today (no snarky comments please) and I'm going to get to the meat of the matter. I stenciled a rug and this is how I did it.

I had a plain jute rug with a black border that I had used in our bathroom in our old house. It was in good condition but I was over it.  I wanted to brighten up my kitchen. See that tile?  It runs through the whole foyer and kitchen. wah-wah.

First I taped off what would be a border inside the black border.





I used acrylic craft paint in, um, blue. Not sure the exact color and a small foam roller to apply the paint to the stencil. The stencil is Cutting Edge's Zamira All Over stencil.



After it dried I used blue painters tape to tape off the border. 


I used a regular trim roller to apply yellow acrylic craft paint. I'm not in love with the yellow but what's done is done.



Use your empty Dove bar box to make a portable palette!  Ok, so some of you can use your empty non fat, no sugar, dessert bar box.  To each her own.


And done!







The spilled Golden Grahams were not staging to make it look like real life. It is real life.



And the photo shoot is nearing an end.



And it's over. le sigh.



Have a great night!
Cheers!
Jenny

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Guest Blogger: Breida with a B!

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Hi. My name is Jennifer and I'm a chalk addict.  I must paint everything with chalkboard paint so I can then write on it with chalk.  And it's an addiction I refuse to give up!!  Yay for Breida with a B for giving us all another way to use chalkboard paint!  I am so happy she is sharing her sweet tags with us today and she is so so nice too. Head over and visit her!  And if you want to be a guest blogger please email me!  Juniper20@gmail.com!


Hello there! Let me introduce myself. My name is Breida. With a B. I am terribly excited to be guesting here at Days of Chalk & Chocolate. This is my very first guest post and I want to thank Jenny for the opportunity. I'm hoping to do a lot more of this in the future and I can say it all started here! I hope you will all come over and visit with me at breida with a b. I'm crafting, painting, gardening, cooking, and trying to take pretty pictures of it all! Join me!

I decided that my post for Days of Chalk & Chocolate should be either about chalk OR chocoalte. . . and since there wasn't any chocolate in the house (gotta fix that), I thought up this simple and versatile craft project. You could do this for any holiday or gift giving occasion but since Mother's Day is coming up very soon - that's the theme I went with.

Erasable chalk tags . . . for any occasion - but you know moms eat this stuff up!

This project is very simple and can even be done by the kids with one minor variation. Here are the materials you will need:

Crayola Model Magic - I love this stuff!


shipping tags and baker's twine - more of my favorites. . .



my NEWEST favorite!! chalkboard paint!



You will also need, chalk, a sharp knife (or a cookie cutter-for the kids), a straw, and a rolling pin.
I have done other cookie cutter projects with Model Magic in the past. It's very easy to work with. Here, I simply rolled out a small piece on the back of a cookie sheet and then lightly pressed the shipping tag into the surface to make an impression. If you press too hard or leave it too long you won't be able to get it back off without wrecking the shape. It took a couple of tries before I got it down but then it was quite easy. Once the imprint of the tag shape is made, use the sharp knife to cut out your shape. Don't make any sawing motions - just press the knife straight down. The imprint will include the hole for the string. A standard drinking straw is just the right size to remove the Model Magic where the hole should be. Just press it straight in and if you get lucky the excess will be stuck in the straw when you remove it. If not - you will need to pluck it out with tweezers. Do all of this directly on the back of the cookie sheet. Once you get your shapes cut out you can't move them till they are dry. (about 24 hours). Don't worry, they don't stick to the pan. Once they are dry they will come right off. Put them aside and resist the temptation to poke them. They are not cookies and you don't want fingerprints on your tags!


They look like they should go in the oven now but there is no cooking involved!



 

All ready to paint. you can see the imprint of the shipping tag - looks like a real tag!



The next step is the most dramatic. I painted these with the brush-on type of Rustoleum Chalk Board Paint because I have a lot of it. A lot. Really. Do you need some? I do, however, think that the spray-on type would work even better. I used a sponge brush but even that left a good deal of texture on the surface of the tag. When the Model Magic dries it is very smooth and I think the spray chalk board paint would keep it that way. 

After I painted them - two coats - and let them dry, I just looped the baker's twine through the hole and the tag is complete. All that's left is deciding what you want to attach it to and what you want to write on it. The tags can be written on with chalk and erased so that you can use them again and again. I'm very pleased with how they came out. The lilacs are from my yard and they are usually blooming for Mother's Day. Everything is a bit topsy-turvy this year. The lilac's will be long finished in another two weeks but I'll still have my erasable chalk tags! 


Here are a few more examples of the finished product:



I'm so happy to be able to share this simple chalk craft here with you at Days of Chalk & Chocolate. Many thanks to Jenny! Please come by and visit me at breida with a b. I'm having a wonderful time sharing my experiences with all of you! Thanks!

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