Before we begin ….
This little chalkboard is proof, if more proof were needed, that I’m a ‘fricken’ rubbish photographer. You see … in real life, this little chalkboard is so sweet. So lovely. Incredible in fact. Something I was so proud of making, and still am proud of making. But in all the photos (and there were a LOT of photos taken) there wasn’t one good one. Not one. 🐻 (I wanted an emoticon with steam coming out of the ears but couldn’t find one, so you have a grumpy bear instead).
It was Mr.Cobs and his enchanting sweet charming wonderful captivating rubbish photographer wife’s (me) 36th Wedding Anniversary recently and I wanted something other than just a normal card for him.
I know, 36 years! I heard you gasp when you read it the first time. It’s hard to believe isn’t it, because I look so young in my Gravatar photo. What can I say … he was a cradle snatcher, but I’ve grown accustomed to his face now so I won’t bother causing a fuss.
I went in search of something which would stand up on the shelf or coffee table, but which wasn’t made from a card or paper product. I found the very thing. A little Chalkboard!
It came as four unprepared pieces – so that you can do whatever you wish to them. A front and a back piece – which are identical. And a frame front section which goes on top of the front piece – so forming the frame around what will become the chalkboard, and finally – a smaller piece which will give you the little shelf for the chalk.
I waded straight in and painted the section on the front piece, in black paint to make it look like the black of a chalkboard. While it was drying, I glued the ‘chalk shelf’ to the frame. Once the paint was dry, I then fixed the frame onto the front (chalkboard painted) section, and held it tightly using some craft clamps and clips.
I painted the legs, frame and back of the chalkboard in Amish Blue paint, then once dry I coated it in a crackle glaze – which I bought many years ago (about 25 years ago) by the bucket-load, (well no, about 15 large bottles of it). It was a new thing on the market then and I loved to crackle crafty stuff. I had a couple of bottles left . . . .
I got a bottle out of my cupboard while chewing on my lip, telling myself that it would be no good. It would have gone off after all this time. BUT … IT HADN’T!!! Ohhhh Joy thy name is Crackle! I duly painted a coat of the crackle glaze, and once dried, I gave it another coat of the Amish Blue. I didn’t want the ‘white peeping from behind the blue, or black or red etc’ thing that everyone seems to do. I wanted a crackle which I could rub some antiquing medium into the cracks so that it had that old cracked varnish look like you find on things in posh shops.
Once everything dry, I added some white stencilling paste around the corner of the chalkboard to give it the suggestion of chalk dust sitting on the side.
Then I turned my attention to fixing the chalkboard back and front together – with soft white string as you can see in the photo’s. And also make the ‘note’ which I wanted to fix to the board.
Next was the turn of the decorative paper flowers to the lower left corner. White paper roses, some Prima blue daisies, and Prima pink roses. Moss, and a few other bits of floral decorations and the corner was done! (The twigs and the teeny pine cones came from my garden).
I added the sentiment – on some lovely striped paper from DoCrafts, in their Floral Muse range (which I ‘vintaged’ using brown ink and a duster brush), and fixed them in place using the two pegs (now glued to the board) and a dab of glue to the back of the ‘note’ to make sure that it didn’t try to make a get-away!
In case you can’t read it, the note says: Happy Anniversary! You are my best decision EVER!
And that’s all there was to it!
Explaining it makes it sound really complicated, but it really wasn’t. Truthfully. If I made it then any idiot with some glue, paint and a brush can do it.
Oh … and yes, he really was. My best decision, ever.
After the three photographs you’ve seen here …. (and remember, these are not good) … this was the next best one….
Look how blurred that is!!! When I first opened up this last photo, I initially took my glasses off and rubbed them with the hem of my t-shirt which I had on! I thought it was my glasses…. then my eyes …. and only after that did I realise that it was my fantastic talent for taking shocking photos. (And if you think this one is bad you ought to see the ones I WOULDN’T show you! lol). But … if you look really carefully to the top bar, over the chalkboard, you can just about see the fine cracked varnish affect I got from using the same colour over the top of the crackle glaze, and then rubbing antiquing medium into the cracks to make the cracks show up.
Ah but anyhoo …
Before I go I have something I just have to share this with you. Mr.Cobs reads a little selection of newspapers on-line and he popped over to the Daily Mail to glance down the main home page to see if there was anything he’d missed from elsewhere. I came in from my craft room to find him laughing so hard (yet trying to keep it under control) so much that I thought he was about to have a fit of some description. He eventually calmed down enough to show me what he was laughing about. When I looked at it I too began to giggle, then laugh, eventually having to grab a tissue to wipe my eyes so I could continue to read. I thought that I would love to share this with you because … well, there’s so much in life to give us a frown right now that if I can make just one of you smile even a little then grabbing the link to this would be very much worth it. So, with my love, and with the advice of making sure you too have a tissue ready …. I share this link: Daily Mail UK – Answers Children gave for Tests. It will open in another window for you.
Enjoy!
Thanks for coming for a visit, I love to see you, but then, you know that already. ❤
Have a blessed day. Be good to each other. See you next time.
The Art of Cobwebs 