Dr.Seuss Inspired Chalk/Magnetic Activity Board

As a child I loved Dr. Seuss books and my children loved them too!
So I always enjoy this time of year when we all celebrate the Dr. Seuss legacy and I can re-live some childhood and early Mom memories!

I am now a Grandmother and have the pleasure of introducing my Grand little ones to the great books of Dr. Seuss, so I was excited to participate in this Craft Lightning Edition and wanted to create something "Seussical" for the little ones!

I came up with this cute and handy little activity tray that I knew the Grandkids would love.

It was so quick and easy to make and the best part is that it was made from an old cookie sheet I had that had gotten ruined in the oven, so it is a recycle/upcycle project to boot!

Check out the collage photo below to see the "before" picture...you won't believe how yucky this pan was!

In most cases, you would be able to just hit an old pan with a piece of sandpaper to get off any baked on high spots...but in this case, the pan was so bad that hubby had to use some of his power tools to get it clean.

I used Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint and it worked beautifully!

I couldn't believe how smoothly it went on and how quickly it dried.

I sprayed two coats, front and back and it covered good.

I taped it off and added the red trim around the sides.

I hadn't originally planned on doing this, so I had to "borrow" hubby's engine enamel!

(Hubs to the rescue again...what would I do without him??!!)

I added some washi tape accents on the sides and then added the foam sticker & button magnets for the kids to play & learn with.

(TIP: You could also add alphabet beads with magnets for spelling games for kids, or old scrabble tiles!)

The Grandkids were at the house when I finished the project and they were all pretty excited about it...we gathered them for a group shot...and their "Poppy" (aka: Grandpa) was standing behind me making funny faces to get them to laugh!

Here are the steps for making the project: 

Here are the tools and supplies I used for this project:

List of Tools/Materials:

Old/Used Metal Cookie Sheet (Not shown in photo)

Sandpaper

Die Grinder Power Tool w/Sanding Disk (Not shown in photo and not necessary in most cases...my tray was extra dirty!)

Krylon Black Chalkboard Spray Paint

Dupli-Color Engine Enamel Ceramic (Red)

Craftsmart Premium Satin Acrylic Paint (color: Pacific Coast)

Creatology Paint Brush

Water/Water Jar (to thin acrylic paint)

Absorbent Pad/Towel

Blue Painters Masking Tape

Brown Paper Bag (can also use Kraft Paper or Butcher's Paper) (Not shown in photo)

Recollections Wide Washi Tape (9.1m)

E6000 Adhesive

Mini-Wooden Clothespins (WalMart)

Buttons, Red, 1/2" (10 ea.)

Dr. Seuss Themed Foam Dimensional Stickers

Magnetic Strip, Crafters Choice, 1/2" wide

Magnets, Small, Round (2 ea.), (for the mini-clothespins)

Cutco Heavy Duty Scissors

Be sure to check out all of the other great Dr. Seuss Crafts being featured this week by clicking on the graphic below:

Thank-you for stopping by my blog, hope you enjoyed your visit and felt inspired to create!

This project/post is linked to the following sites/link-up parties:

Desk Organizer for Teacher

I am really loving the Craft Lightning  Series sponsored by my favorite bloggers, Angie at Country Chic Cottage and Carolina at 30 minute crafts and this current version, Teacher Appreciation, is no exception!

I am always trying to do 10 things at once and am never very successful in getting things done, so finding a craft I can do in 15 minutes or less fits right in with my daily madness!

As my previous visitors and followers already know, I babysit two of my Grandchildren on a regular basis and one of them is in school and she LOVES to make things for her teachers, so I decided to be sure and make a teacher gift every year for her to give to her current teacher.

Last year, I made this personalized coffee container for her Kindergarten teacher and it was a hit not only with Little B and her teacher, but with the entire class!

I don't know if this project will be quite as popular as that one, but since I've been on a "recycle/upcycle" trend lately, I decided to continue with that theme and try to re-use something in a creative way.

I had seen a very cute idea on either Pinterest or Stumble Upon recently and wanted to re-create it but wasn't sure if that exact item (A jewelry holder) would fit for B's teacher, since I do not know a whole lot about her and what she might like, so I decided to down-size it and make it for use on a teacher's desk.

(Click Here to see the original project that I used for inspiration)

So, I made this desk organizer (paper clip, brad, rubber-band holder).

I tried to think of what little items a teacher would use that would need to be organized for quick use on her desk and I came up with paper clips, rubber bands, brads and push-pins.
(I forgot to take any photos of the organizer with push-pins in it...oops! But you get the idea!)

I used 3 empty plastic soda bottles (12-20 oz.) for this organizer, but you could make yours bigger and/or smaller depending on your taste and what bottles you have on hand.

One of the great things about this project is you can almost make it from stuff just around your house and in your craft stash, especially if you have a hubby with a garage or shop!

Oddly enough, my husband has a garage stock full of hardware and tools, but since he wasn't home at the time I started my project, I couldn't find some of the hardware I needed, so I did run to the corner hardware store real quick and pick-up the threaded rod, washers and nuts, though I'm pretty sure he had most of that hidden somewhere in the dark corners of his man cave!

When he got home, I had him do the drilling for me, even though I attempted it with my 25+ year old dremel too, but it finally gave up the ghost, just as I was drilling my first hole, so I had him finish the others for me, as I was not sure I wouldn't drill my finger trying to wrestle with the bigger drill!

(Note: Be sure to wear safety gear, ie: googles and leather gloves when drilling or cutting...I forgot the gloves in my pics, but I did wear safety glasses!)

I noticed that most plastic bottles have a built-in line around them right about where you want to cut, but if you prefer a deeper dish/bowl, then just mark the bottle with tape and then cut it with the utility knife.

I sanded the edges of the plastic after I cut just to smooth them out a bit.
I decided to add some washi tape to the edges also, mostly for color and decoration, but this is not necessary if you sand them smooth or unless you just want to dress them up a bit!

(NOTE about the washi tape...some brands/types don't want to stick as well on plastic...especially when you are wrapping it around contours and curves! In this case, you may need to use a little elmers glue or mod podge to seal the edges. I did not do this...as you might be able to see in a few of the pics...but I will probably go back and do this before I have little B give this to her teacher.)

After attaching all the pieces using the washers and nuts I decided to add an embellishment to the top, to make it look a little prettier!

I used a plain white bead and inserted a straight pin with a colored ball tip and glued them together with E6000.

When it dried, I just snipped off the excess pin and glued the embelli to the top of the threaded rod.

This project was so easy and inexpensive...and it turned out pretty cute for a recycled project!

Hope you like it and might want to try making one of your own or for your favorite teacher!

Here is a photo of the tools and supplies used for this project:

Supplies/Tools List:

3 Empty Plastic Soda Bottles (12 oz., 16.9 oz. & 20 oz.)
Painters Tape, Blue, Scotch 3M
Utility Knife, Husky
Threaded Rod, 1/4" (approx. 6")
Hex Nuts, 1/4"
Flat Washers, 3/16"
Scotch Expressions Tape, 3/4", Dark Pink (Fuschia), Matte Finish
Washi Tape, We-R-Memory Keepers, 1 cm., Green/White design
Washi Tape, We-R-Memory Keepers, 1 cm., Blue flower design
Sand Paper, Med-Fine Grit
Adhesive, Industrial Strength, E6000
Side Cutter/Wire Cutter - (Not shown - Used to trim off excess straight pin)

I would like to send out a special thank-you to my daughter Beth, (who is a photographer) for helping me with some of the photos (you will be able to tell which one's are hers! She's a pro...I am NOT! LOL!)
If you get a chance, check out her photography site, she is very talented and I'm so proud of her!

Also, a big thank-you to Angie and Carolina for once again allowing me to be part of this awesome blog series.

It's always so much fun and so much inspiration to be shared!

Be sure to check out all the great Teacher Appreciation projects in this Craft Lightning Series.
Angie and Carolina will be posting round-ups of all the projects each day!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

This project is linked-up to the following sites/link parties:

Washi Tape Gourd Ornament - Craft Lightning Holiday Edition 2013

Happy Holidays!

Yes...I know it's a tad early...but really the Holidays are upon us with Thanksgiving coming up next week!

Are you prepared or way behind like me?

At least I've started on my Christmas ornaments and this year I'm obsessed with gourds!

If you saw my last post, then you know what I'm talking about.

I purchased a good sampling of dried gourds at the pumpkin patch in October and have been trying to come up with various crafty and thrifty ways to decorate them for the season!

It occurred to me that time is always a factor when preparing for the Holidays and so I wanted to use a technique that was fast, yet would still be cute and  worthy of display.

Then Washi Tape popped into my head!

Of course you've heard of it...it's one of the latest craft trends and SO easy to use!

It just so happens that it was time for another fabulous "Craft Lightning" Series hosted by my awesome bloggie friends Carolina at 30 Minute Crafts and Angie at The Country Chic Cottage, so this project is a perfect fit!

If you are new here, then I'll fill you in on what "Craft Lightning" is...it is a craft that you can make in 15 minutes or less (minus drying time)!

This edition of Craft Lightning features a roundup of great Holiday Projects from a awesome bunch of Craft and Home/DIY Bloggers, you won't want to miss one minute of it!

Here is a photo collage of the steps I took to make this ornament...

I somehow forgot to get a photo of the part where I added the thin gold ribbon to the top and bottom of ornament, but you can see it if you look closely at the pics.

Here are the tools and supplies used to make this project:

Materials/Tools Used:

Dried Gourd

Delta Ceramacoat Acrylic Paint (White)

Paintbrush

Washi Tape, Tape Works by Sandy Lion (#SC9518) Red/Pink Paisley Design

Aleene's Original Tacky Glue

Darice Glitter, Lt. Pink

Braided Ribbon, Metallic Polyester, Gold, 1/8", Berwick/Offray

Scissors, mini

ModPodge Gloss

Foam paint brush

Satin Ribbon, Pink, 3/8" (Brand Unknown)

Faceted Faux Jewel, Gold/Yellow, 1/2", in Blook By Design (Hobby Lobby)

Thank-you for joining me today! 

Be sure to check out all the other great projects in this series, you'll truly be inspired!

This project/post is linked to the following sites/link-up parties: