Monday, March 21, 2011

Another Magnet Chalk Board Organizer

So I take ZERO credit for this project but I have this super creative friend Whitney who I've tried using excessive force to have her post on here... but she gave me permission to do it for her... so here I go...
She bought this....
... At the thrift store for really cheap of course.
Its just a picture painted on a canvas with no glass in the frame.  She then just sprayed over it with chalk board paint (I'm sure if it was a real oil painting you would have to sand it down a bit to get rid of all the lumps)... and then she glued some BIG magnets on the back and stuck it on the side of her fridge... like so...
I love the way it looks in her apartment... it doesn't take up any wall space because its on the fridge and it matches the vintage feel of her living room... any framed picture will do as long as its on a canvas... give it a try.
Whitney's Instructions: 
Pretty self explanatory.  Remove picture from frame.  Clean of dirt and dust.  Spray with chalkboard paint.  I did several coats.  Staple the picture back into the frame (or attach it however the frame requires).  For magnets I used about 6 of the biggest one-sided sticky magnets I could find.  These still didn't quite hold the frame onto the fridge (even though it was really light) so I added a really large rectangular magnet that used to be on my fridge as decor.  I think I got it at Target.  Something the size of this...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40386452@N05/5371538348/

Spruced up $1 chairs

This is another Whitney gem.... imagine a chair that has brass metal, and a brown plastic covering that is pealing off with yellow foam showing through... not cute right? RIGHT.  They were only a BUCK each at the thrift store... then she purchased this adorable medium weight material on-line and some silver spray paint and went to town.  She unscrewed the cushions and then cute the material to fit... and then just folded it nice and tight and stapled it underneath and screwed the cushions back on... the chair is like NEW! This is such a great idea for anyone who wants to spice up their furniture for cheap... DIY upholstery.
From the mouth of Whitney (the real instructions... not just me guessing):
I pulled off the leather by cutting it with an exacto knife and prying out the staples with a flat head screwdriver.  Then I wrapped the seats and stapled the fabric onto the underside.  The backs of the chair were more difficult and required wrapping them like a present with the stapled edges on the sides and bottom.  I spray painted the metal with two coats, but recommend priming the chair first or using a sealant after the spray paint as the paint chips easily.