Wooden Cutting Board Makeover and Repurpose

This is such a little project I'm sharing today, but I love how it turned out and am feeling so excited to share it with you.

Over the summer I picked up a little cutting board at a yard sale for .10.  I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with it , but thought maybe I would do an image transfer on it.  Well, it has sat in the garage in my "to do" project pile ever since.  Then the other day I picked up a 2nd one at the ReStore for .25 and felt it was finally time to do something with it.  As I was walking through the paint aisle at Walmart I spotted the cans of chalkboard paint and an idea hit me.

A cutting board turned message board!

I added a coat of MinWax Early American stain to the back, sides, and edges of the front.  I thought the darker colored wood would be more complimentary to the black chalkboard paint than the original light wood.

Then I taped it off and put two coats of the chalkboard paint on it.  Either my tape wasn't pressed down firmly enough or I put too thick of a coat of paint on because when I lifted the tape afterwards some of it had seeped under.  Plus, even though I had checked and rechecked and practically crossed my eyes trying to make sure my rectangle was perfectly straight, I still ended up with one slightly lopsided edge. 

 Don't you hate it when the projects you think should be so fast and easy never fail to turn more complicated?  So, I tore off a small little piece of sandpaper and started sanding the drippy areas intending to go back and fill in the sanded areas with stain by using a tiny paintbrush.  But as I sanded it I realized I actually liked how it looked.  It gave the edges a more rustic, less precise look and gave the chalkboard area a matted look.  Plus, it made the lopsided edge not even noticeable.  Yay for not having to repaint!!

I tied the chalk on with a piece of twine.  I had to make the twine pretty long so the chalk could reach the bottom of the board, so I just wrapped the extra length around the handle of the cutting board.

The addition of the board inspired me to change up the whole coffee corner and now I love it so much! I brought in one of my little Ikea canisters to hold my coffee.  

(You can read about how I "galvanized" the lids {here}.)

And I added a little metal vintage Jello mold to hold the sweetener packets. 

 (I 'm trying to get away from using artificial sweeteners, but it still looks cute.)

The only problem is, it really makes me wish I had a beautiful farmhouse kitchen with white beadboard cupboards, lovely rustic hardwood floors, and barn style lights.  {Sigh}....someday!

For now I just have to enjoy dreaming about my "someday" kitchen while I brew a cuppa each day.

Let's see a side by side comparison of the before and after.

I'm.in.love.

So, for all of 10 cents I have a gorgeously rustic message board that makes my heart happy.  

(I did have to purchase the chalkboard paint, but I used so very little of it that I have enough left over for tons more projects so I'm not really counting that in the price.)

What do you think?  Do you like my rustic repurpose?  

Do you have a message board in your home that makes your heart happy? 

 I'd love to hear about it!

                                                               

Sharing over at:

Budget Decorating Party - Creative Cain Cabin
Knick of Time Tuesday - Knick of Time
Wow Us Wednesdays - Savvy Southern Style
Saturday Nite Special - Funky Junk Interiors

Technical Difficulties

I have a cute little project that I had hoped to share with you today, but our modem suddenly quit working. So, no Internet until the technician can get here to fix it. (I'm using 3G on my phone to post this.)  We have a winter storm headed our way so there's no telling if the tech guy will even be able to make it. So...as soon as I can get online I'll get the pictures edited and get the post up. Hopefully sooner rather than later. : )

Perfectly Boiled and Easy to Peel Eggs

Do you ever struggle with getting hard boiled eggs to peel easily?  Do you ever end up with a yolk that's surrounded by a grayish/greenish ring?  Well never fear, today I'm sharing all the tips and tricks I've gathered over the years that have made for the perfect hard boiled egg that peels in a flash.

I used to have problems with both of the things I mentioned.  Then eventually I figured out how to get rid of the gray/green ring, but I still spent oodles of time trying to get all the tiny little pieces of shell to let go of the egg.  They would just cling to it with a vengeance and I would dread the fight.  But after trying different tips and tricks with sporadic success I've finally figured out the combination that works.

Quick & Simple Valentine's Table

Ok, let me just say up front that this post does not contain my best photography skills.  It's a combo of phone pictures and camera pictures, but even the camera pictures are lacking.  My family was starving and ready for their breakfast and I was just trying to snap a few pictures really fast and didn't even look to see how they were turning out.  

It's nothing spectacular, just something simple I threw together the night before to help make the day special for my kiddos.  

Antique Potato Basket...or is it?

Ok, so those of you who follow the Facebook page might remember a few weeks ago when I excitedly posted that I found something I had been looking for for a long time.

Last year I shared my master bathroom and shared the above picture of an antique metal potato basket as something I would love to find to replace the basic plastic laundry basket under the sink.

Farmhouse Fried Chicken

Have you ever wished you could make good ol' Southern fried chicken?  And not just make it, but end up with chicken that's even better than KFC?  Well, you're in luck because today I'm gonna show you how it's done!  

I've been surprised at the number of women I meet that don't know how to make fried chicken.  Some have been young and inexperienced, but some have been older and have had lots of years of experience under their belts, yet don't know how to make it.  What a shame.  Good fried chicken is a must.  Like as in, I think God forgot an 11th commandment, "Every woman shalt know how to fry a chicken."  So let's remedy that, shall we?

Lost and Found ~ The Story of a Lamp

Last week, the kiddos and I went to a couple of local thrift stores and also visited the ReStore while we were out.  I didn't have nearly as much luck as I had hoped for, in fact the kids just about had better scores than me.  The 5 year old found a stuffed "Alex the Lion" from Madagascar in perfect condition.  She loves Alex!!  And the 2 year old found a whole set of Bob the Builder characters, which he also loves, and in perfect condition.

Me on the other hand, I found one thing.  

Three stores and two hours later and I spent a whoppin' $1.

BUT....I was actually mucho excited about my one thing.