This month's Craft Challenge is seeing us upcycle an unwanted item into something completely new and fabulous. We'll be holding a link-up for you to share your upcycled project on the last Monday of October. Until then I look forward to seeing what my gals come up with.
My item has been gathering dust under the bed since I bought it for one euro at a flea market nearly 18 months ago. When I remembered what the theme was for this month it was time to whip it out. Ladies (and Gentlemen) I present to you - my Tray to Chalkboard upcycle:
I wanted to make something useful for the house, try out chalk board paint and use our love of Australia in this project.
To make this you will need a: tray, acrylic paint, paint samples, Sharpies, black board paint, brushes, water and patience!
I started off with a metal tray. It was badly scratched - which was fantastic for painting. If your tray isn't so scratched then you might want to sand paper it a bit first. I painted the edges with three layers of acrylic paint before adding two layers of chalkboard paint to the centre. The more precise amongst you might want to mask off the sides to make it more even. I just free wheeled it and love the slightly wonky result. Really!
My chalkboard paint required it to be left a couple of hours between coats, but a whole 24 hours before any chalk could be used on it. This is plenty of time to decorate the outsides. I bought some paint samples and grabbed a cool metallic fine liner I picked up in Karlsruhe over the summer.
I love the patterns used by aboriginal people in their artwork - and while I can not create the wonderful intricate patterns used in the best paintings, I can make dots with a brush. I choose a tribal style pattern and really enjoyed zoning out while doing this. You could choose any pattern around the edge - but I wanted something to remind me of where A & I met. The board is ready to write on. I decided coloured chalks would work best. This is now the only decorative item in my newly emptied flat. Every time I see it, I smile.
So in other news I booked my flight out of the United Kingdom. Life is all set to change on 17th December when I board my one-way ticket to my new country, married bliss and lots of German learning. My brain is slowly starting to realise how quickly everything is changing. It might have caught up by the time I step on the plane! I have also had my wedding dress fitting, finished another 23 metres of bunting and made a ring cushion.
What have you been up to really? And who in Germany is going to help me drink through the initial homesickness? Until the next post...
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