Back to Life (and A Dry Erase Board Tutorial)

Here I go again... It is so much easier to start things all over again than to persist with the old stuff...
After more than a year of net-silence, I'm going back to life, full speed. During this year so many things have changed - we moved, our big boy started first grade and we have a new addition to the family - a baby boy (who doesn't like sleeping like his mom does...). So I thought to myself - why not do some useful and fun things during maternity leave - I could finally finish setting up my Etsy store, write more, sew a bit, knit a bit. Ha-Ha! As if... I hardly found the time to breathe...Just now, when he soon will celebrate his first birthday, and we unpacked (almost) all the boxes, I can manage to do a bit more than laundry/dishes/cooking and go back to do the things I love.

So I'm going to start with an old project, something I made for the kids' kindergarten teachers and assistants almost two years ago (talking about delay...). I made 4 dry earse boards, each is simply a piece of fabric in a frame with glass. When it's ready, just write your notes on the glass.

Find yourself a wooden frame (you can get super simple and cheap ones from IKEA or just use old frames. We're going to paint it to get a vintage look anyhow).

 

 

Paint your first layer in brown.

 

While we wait for the paint to dry, we'll prepare the backing. Using fabric adhesive attach a piece of fabric, slightly larger than the backing, to the frame backing. Try to choose a light color, otherwise it might be difficult to read what you write on the glass.

 

 

This is how it should look when you finish:

 

 

Now you can decorate with ribbons, lace or ricrac.

Now back to the frame. When the brown layer is dry, use a candle to rub all the corners and anywhere you want to expose the brown layer later.

Now paint 2-3 layers of white (or any other light color you choose) and let dry.

When it's dry, sand a bit on the spots where you want to expose the brown paint underneath.

This is how it should look:

When paint is completely dry, apply polyurethane to protect the frame. Now we finish with the small details - place the glass and covered backing into the frame and add a marker. I tied a ribbon around the marker and attached it to the frame using a small screw.

You can also add a small piece of sponge. Just glue a piece of Velcro onto the sponge and another one on the frame.

 

 

That's it, done!

 

 

These items from Amazon will help you get started...