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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

DIY Chalkboard Countdown

So, while I should be cleaning and organizing our apartment for the hubs to come home, I've taken on  DIY projects instead. Totally appropriate right?!

My first DIY project was an easy one. I found the idea on Groopdealz. I LOVE shopping on Groopdealz but I really dislike paying for things that I know I could turn out in 2 seconds and for a fraction of the price! I had seen this idea on Pinterest after I gave up the deal on Groopdealz and was longing to make it!


The only problem with making the sign is that I sold my Cricut, bought a Silhouette, and then fried the motherboard of my computer... all in one weekend. So I had to wait to get the computer back (which finally happened on Monday! Huge shout out to Best Buy!)

I went to Lowes for my wooden plank. I had a size in my head but without measurements, I was kinda walking around blind. I found a piece 1"x5.5"x14.5" and was on my way! Long story short, the piece I picked out rang up for $25!!! The lady at checkout agreed that that was completely wrong and tried to get someone from lumber to give us another price. After several attempts and no help, she decided that it must have been someone's cut scraps and that I could have it for FREE! Whoop whoop! The great thing about this chalkboard countdown is that you can make it however you'd like. You can have a different saying on it, use other colors for paint, and use a bigger or smaller plank! It's totally customizable!

Here's what I used:
-wooden plank from Lowe's
- Martha Stewart Chalkboard paint in Grey
-Vinyl cut of saying

and that's it!

I painted the plank with the chalkboard paint. Once the first coat was dry, I tried it out with my chalk markers (the best invention ever!) and realized that it needed another coat because the chalk wouldn't come off. I added a second coat and this was what I ended up with...


Then I cut my vinyl out using the color of my choosing. The great thing about vinyl is that it comes in a ton of colors and if you know someone who is super awesome (like me!) you can get your saying cut for dirt cheap! (More about that at the end!)

I applied my vinyl and ta-da! I was done! I could not be more pleased with how it turned out and it is currently in my living room with the countdown of days until Hubs come home!



So how much would one of these cost you?!

-Wooden plank: Free or around $5 from the ones I saw at Lowes. A 4 foot plank would be ideal if they would cut it in half for you! Then you'd have 2 that you could do something with and it wouldn't cost more than $10 probably. 
-Chalkboard paint: $1.99 for Jo-Ann's. They have a rainbow of chalkboard paint colors! Think outside the box! Don't just go with black!
-Vinyl cut: $3 if you buy from me! I have 30 different colors to choose from.

As far as the sayings go, you could do something like "Today I'm Thankful For {   }" or anything your heart desires!

What are some DIY projects you've been working on lately? I'd love to hear your ideas!

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