A Better Chalkboard and a Toy "Box"

Here are some of my latest "craft projects."  When I was making my big chalkboard for the schoolroom, I had this picture frame that is kind of an odd shape, so I decided that it, too, would make a good chalkboard to post little stuff--the date, reminders, menus, etc.  (As you can see, crafts aren't the only thing going on at my house: soup + jello= sicky!)

The first coat of chalkboard paint was the same as what I used for the biggin'.  I rolled it directly onto the glass, but I didn't have quite enough.  A few weeks passed, and I finally, made it to the store to get some spray paint to finish the job.  I spritzed on another couple of coats and let it dry for probably a day.  I conditioned it by rubbing the entire surface with the side of a piece of chalk and then, wiped it with a wet rag.  I gotta say, this one seems like it did better than the other.  As you can see, it remains a little chalky, but the color of this one stayed black whereas the other one faded pretty fast.  

Craft project numero dos didn't really require a lot of craftiness, just a Howard that would hang this for me. This is an old coke crate that I recently acquired from a flea market in Nashville.  They are pretty popular now, so you can probably find them pretty easily.  I scouted this one out specifically for this little project. Emma Lola loves her some tiny toys, and I thought this would be a unique way to show them off.  You could also paint the interior, if you are feeling particularly crafty, but I like the rustic look, too.

You could do this for any number of collectibles.  I could even house perfume bottles in it, if I had enough wall space in my bathroom.  Since I have so much room on this particular wall, I may just add a few more boxes and see if I have enough tiny toys to go around.  

We actually placed it at her height, too, so she can still get to them.  We just made sure that we secured it really well.

And, here is the operations center to our home school (and home too, for that matter).  I got these cool vintage maps that double as shades in our sunroom with Charlotte in mind, and I finally broke down and bought a printer.  I'm not the biggest fan of technology (and printers are the devil), but this puppy really has come in handy, and it has a copier on it too, so I guess you could call it a necessary evil.