DIY Chalkboard Paint

Oh boy, I'm super excited right now. I have a great project in the works that I will share with you soon, but until then, I'd love to show you my homemade chalkboard paint!

This paint is for the project I'm working on, but it deserves a whole post of it's own. If you've been around the right sections of Pinterest (or some other site, I'm sure) you'll notice that people are getting crazy with chalkboard paint.

But what is a girl like me supposed to do when she doesn't want boring black chalkboard paint?

Luckily I had found the answer to this dilemma beforehand. I thought I had seen something on Pinterest about just colouring chalkboard paint, but I went to look at it turned out that I was supposed to just make my own.

Uh-oh, I thought. I don't have time for this right now.

But then I read the directions:

Mix unsanded grout with whatever colour acrylic or latex paint you want in a 1:8 ratio. Paint your intended object. Done.

Alright, I got my excitement back! So I rushed off to my local building supply shop the next day. I expected I would have to buy a huge tub of grout, but actually I got a little thing of it for only $3! And by little, I mean will last me through about 2000+ batches of chalkboard paint.

My paint destination was Michael's, as I did not want to buy giant cans of latex paint from the building supply store. People online seemed to have enough success with acrylic paint, so I went straight to the Martha Stewart section. She actually makes chalkboard paint of her own, and it comes in 4 different colours, but I had decided I wasn't going to cheat. Besides, I wanted a purple, which she didn't offer to me.

After a flurry of grabbing bottles and enduring massive indecision, a bored-to-death boyfriend, and a second and third trip back to the store, I ended up with the colours I wanted. Finally!

Now I won't bore you with the accounts of my paint jobs, but let me just give you a few photos and tips:

Grout and some paint!

Nice paint consistency

Coat 1 of 2

Coat 2 of 2

- Mix the grout you are using with a little water to remove the clumps, before mixing with the paint.

- Even if you only need a tiny batch, I would suggest using at least 1/4 tsp. grout to 2 tsp. paint.
  Any less, and my paint was drying and clumping quicker than I could use it.

- Don't get too much paint on your brush when you are painting small objects... should be a given,
  but I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Multiple times.

- I was able to use Martha Stewart's acrylic paint with satin, pearl, and metallic finishes with no
  detrimental effects (although I'm not thrilled about how pearl turned out) Oh, the possibilities!

Sorry not a great picture... looks better in person.

Any of you been doing anything with chalkboards? Let me know!

31 Days off Your Duff {Day 31} - Rolling Perfect Pinwheels

I don't know about all of you, but my sister said she is terrible at rolling pinwheels. Just terrible.

This past Saturday I had to make nearly 200 of the little guys, so I got pretty decent. Here are the two main tips I picked up!

Quality or Quantity?

Since I was making these in bulk, I was definitely going for quantity here. And using super-huge tortillas, I got about 15-20 pinwheels out of each one.

If you are going for top quality though, I'd say expect about 4 perfect ones, or 6-10 good ones total.

Stuffing and Rolling

No matter what quantity you want, you won't be using the very ends of the roll, so don't even bother putting ingredients there. I left about 1.5-2 inches free on either end.

Fill with whatever other ingredients you desire, and it's time to start rolling! Grab the right or left side and start as small as possible.

Tight, tight, tight. Make it as tight as you possibly can. Don't worry, you won't over do it; it is, however, incredibly easy to under-do it.

Once I got the hang of it, my pinwheels started to have five layers of tortilla. Well, the ones from the very center of the roll did; the farther out you get, the less tortilla there will be. That's just what happens when you make a circle into a tube.

Fairly decent, right? I'd say so.

Now don't be scared to make these yourself, as my sister is. You can easily whip up a big batch of these in a party emergency! And you can make them fancy too; I really have the urge to try some smoked salmon ones.

Now that you've been off your duff for most of the month, don't give up! Keep trying new things, enjoying life, and making things for yourself!

31 Days off Your Duff {Day 30} - Tuna & Apples

I wanted to share with you all the strange combination of sandwich I discovered a few weeks ago.

Of course, the title gave it away, so it will come as no shock to you when I say the sandwich was: tuna and apples.

I was about to take a tuna sandwich to volleyball, and my mom suggested I take an apple with me too. We each thought,

Huh. Tuna and apples sounds strangely appetizing...

And so I tried it. I ate my tuna sandwich with sliced up apples inside. And it was indeed delicious!

Don't be afraid to try strange foods together. You'll be right more often then you'd think.

Other Sandwich Combinations

Well, seeing as how that was such a boring post, I'll tell you about a few of my other favourite sandwich toppings that I don't see enough of.

Egg Salad w/ Green Olives

I don't understand why this isn't considered just normal. Deviled eggs have green olives; why don't egg salad sandwiches? They are basically the same thing!

[Insert meat} w/ Vinegar

I don't like lunch meat very much, but on the days I am desperate enough to eat it, I love drizzling on some vinegar.

[Insert meat] w/ Kale Chips

Nothing adds excitement to an otherwise boring sandwich like the crunch of chips! I think I saw in a movie once somebody adding potato chips onto a sandwich. Of course, where there are potato chips, there should be kale chips!


Alright that's all I've got right now. Why don't you tell me about your favourite sandwich toppings?