DIY: Chalkboards

I was shopping at Michael's last week and was in the paint aisle picking up some acrylic paint.  At the end of the aisle, a lady was looking into the "cage" of spray paint, and for some reason it reminded me of a project I was hoping to do.  I asked the guy helping her if they made chalkboard paint in a spray can.  I knew it came in a can, but I wanted something quicker and easier.  And as luck would have it, they do!  He showed me where it was at, and for $7.50 I picked up a can of Krylon chalkboard paint.

(source)

Then I wandered through the picture frame aisle and found some frames on sale for $3.50

It's a 10"x13" frame, and what was funny was that the 8x10" frames were on sale for $3 more.  So I grabbed four of them and took them home.  (Plus I had a coupon for 20% off my entire purchase.)
I popped the glass out of all the frames and laid them out on some paper outside.

I forgot to take a picture of the next step, but basically you just follow the steps on the back of the can, and spray the panes of glass.  I ended up doing three thin coats, letting each one dry in between.  In the meantime, I sanded down the frames since they were finished and gave them a few coats of green paint.

After letting everything dry, I put the glass back into the frame and put the back on.  After waiting 24 hours to let the chalkboard paint set, they were ready to use.  It said to rub chalk all over the board to "activate" it and then it was good to go!

I made three in the green and then the fourth I did in a different color to hang in our kitchen.
I'm planning on having one of these for in the photobooth we're having and then I'm not totally sure on the other two.  I was thinking of maybe putting one on the guestbook sign in table, and the other on the gift table with a little message on each.

I probably only used about 1/4 of the can on these four boards, so I'll have to think of some more projects to use up the rest!  So each board only cost about $4.  Not too bad!

Thanks For Coming!

I think I may have hinted at our favors a time or two in the past, but I wasn't fully ready to share with you what was going on.  But now, I suppose there isn't any point in holding back.  It's not as if you guys are going to be there, and I'm ruining the surprise!

I'm going the photobooth route for our wedding.  And before you guys said you've heard it a million times (because I have too!) hopefully the little touches of me will make it stand out.

But, first, at the beginning.  I went to a bridal expo last May shortly after getting engaged.  I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone, I didn't get a whole lot out of it.  But what was there was a photobooth for everyone to try.  That was actually the first time that I had heard of one and thought it was just the coolest thing, and I HAD to have it.
But that wasn't going to happen for $900.  Absolutely not, especially since it was just a fun added bonus to the reception.

Then later in the summer I got an email from that company saying they were having a special going on for half price rentals.  I emailed them to see if they had my date available, and luckily they did.   I told myself I could justify it if I found a fun way to make it into a favor.  I was already budgeting to spend at least $1/guest which would be $300.  So for just a bit more, this became the option.

So I quickly sat down and came up with an idea of a photo frame for the pictures so our guests could take their picture home and do what they'd like with it, and it would have our names and wedding date on it, along with a nice little Thank You message.
Here's what I came up with:

(sorry for the crappy quality, I had to take it with my webcam since I don't have my computer cord)

 

I debated putting a magnet on the back of them all so they could easily be put on the fridge, but I decided that was an unnecessary expense, and some people might rather put them on a memo board, etc.  So where it stands now, is that about 200 of the 300 are completely finished.

Then, a couple weeks ago I got an email from Vistaprint like usual, and one of the freebies was a small banner.  So I laid out a design and uploaded it to have it printed.  I believe I paid no more than $5 for the following (and that was only the shipping).

(again with the crappy picture)

It came rolled up as a banner, and I took it into my mom's work and had the framer mount it onto GatorBoard which is a very stiff foam board.  I went in to pick it up today and her boss was ringing me up for that and a can of paint, and he said, "Don't worry about the board, we'll throw it in for good luck."  How sweet?!  I would have only been paying $10, but it was an unexpected surprise.  I'm going to place it on a large black easel (that I'm borrowing from my own work) next to the booth which will be in the entry hallway into the reception.

At the bottom it reads: "To preserve your memories, please place your fabulous photos in the photo mats found at your seats, enjoy them as our gift to you!"

I'm going to make small matching tents to place on each table, to direct the guests towards the booth.  This has become one of the more exciting projects for me, and I'm loving the way it's turning out.