Made By HtA

“DIY: Work in Progress” Printable Door Hanger and Picture Display

Here is a little something to hang on the door of a craft room (check out our pin board of craft rooms) or home office – as a sort of ‘do not disturb’ sign. I’ve also created a version that can be printed out and put in a frame for daily inspiration 🙂

March 12, 2013 in DIY, Home Office, Made By HtA

DIY Chalkboard Globe: Anthropologie Soapstone Knock Off

So I’ve been using chalkboard paint for the first time. The first project I wanted to do was to recreate the look and feel of a soapstone globe I saw on Anthropologie that cost $368. It would be great to have something so solid and raw sitting on the desk, but for my cheaper alternative I decided to use a normal globe I found at a book shop.

Materials used: Plastic globe, black acrylic paint, chalkboard paint, brushes and chalk – not much really.

1. Step one was to paint the entire globe black including the blue stand. I wanted to have a basecoat to paint the chalkboard paint onto.

2. After painting 2 coats of black acrylic, and 2 coats of chalkboard paint – I then conditioned the globe. This is done by crushing up some chalk and wiping it all over. This is when I tried to create the soapstone texture, by wiping the chalk dust horizontally around the globe.

3. Since it was sitting on my desk, I ended up using it as a basic weekly to-do calendar 🙂

March 1, 2013 in DIY, Home Office, Made By HtA

THE IKEA BILLY Chalkboard Sign DIY Hack

The Quote: “Eat well, Live simply, Laugh often” – perfect for the kitchen countertop. I’ve been wanting to create a simple chalkboard, and thought that using an IKEA BILLY extension door would make a great frame.

Materials used: IKEA BILLY OLSBO extension glass door (plus the hinges that come with it), white spray paint (had it lying around), masking tape, chalkboard paint, piece of wood to use as the stand, wood stain and finisher.

1. The first thing I did was to mask the frame, back and front, before spray painting the glass. The spray paint sticks onto the glass well allowing for the chalkboard paint to be applied. I tried using acrylic paint instead of spray paint but that didn’t work. There are glass primers – but I wanted to use what I had around the house.

2. Painted on 2 coats of chalkboard paint.

3. To create the stand I used one of the hinges that came with the BILLY door and a piece of wood. The wood was stained twice to try and match the BILLY color and left overnight to dry. New holes had to be drilled into the frame of the BILLY door as the hinge needed to be fitted upside down. A hole was drilled into the stained piece of wood for the screw to fit into.