Chalkboard Paint

Chalkboard Paint.  You know you want to try it!! So many pins out there about chalkboard paint.  You can put it on ANYTHING! It's fun! And it is a craft for YOU, not just kids.

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And good news, super easy.   Warning... you only need about 1 TBSP non-sanded grout or less to make a small batch (which goes a long way).  However, the smallest box I could find was huge and will probably last me a lifetime and then some.  I will be sharing my wealth of non-sanded grout!

I saw one website, unfortunately forgot to pin, that suggested you mix the grout with a tiny bit of water before adding the paint.  I did this, and I'm glad, it wasn't clumpy at all! If you do this, just make sure to use the TINIEST amount, I can imagine using too much would make your paint too runny.

I used 2 2oz containers of paint from Joanns (89 cents each!). You can use ANY color you like, I decided to go with classic black. I wasn't feeling too adventuresome.  Within seconds, my batch was ready!  I have lots left over, so next time I will only make 1 container.  Here are my newly painted jars (counting down daddy's time away from us), and wine glasses!

So many fun things to do with your paint!

Source: etsy.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Kate on Pinterest

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(So doing this last pin when the kids are old enough to play scrabble!)

Handmade Children's Belts

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Sometimes the smallest things can make the outfit.  For my daughter, she loves to wear belts with her pants. She doesn't really NEED them, but she likes them and I can't say no.  I could not find belts that we liked last year, so I just bought some cheap ones that, of course, peeled paint off of and looked kind of icky after a few months. I saw a friend post pictures of some homemade belts she made for her sons and I thought, gee, I can do that!!

Since I have creative kids who find solid colors boring, I looked at this tutorial for something a little different:

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I took the kids to Joann's and let them pick out their favorite ribbons.  (This could also be a great project to use up ribbons you have stashed up!)

Then, silly me, forgot to look at this tutorial when I actually sat down to MAKE the belts... so the ribbon doesn't wrap around to the other side... oops. Thankfully my kids love what I do, even with I mess up. Ah unconditional love. It's awesome!