Friday, July 26, 2013

Homeschool: Chalkboard 101

We are just getting ready to homeschool over at the cabin.  We don't have a whole lot of room to spare over here, but I knew I wanted a designated space where I could keep everything together and somewhat organized.

Charlotte and Baby Emma Lola had been sharing this tiny room that is reminiscent of a hallway.  Then, Daddy decided to redecorate his bedroom, so I ended up being the happy recipient of these beauts:


I had to have a make it work moment here.  Since the cabin is so tiny, I moved these twin beds that happened to have belonged to my great-grandparents into what should be the living room.  We actually spend most of our time in the sunroom anyway, whiling away our time to this stellar view.


I was left with the tiny hallway room to set up shop, so that's what we did. 

I must admit I am a bit of a closet school supply hoarder, so (of course) off the jump, we decided to tackle the ultimate in school supplies:  the Chalkboard.  

Now that they sell chalkboard paint, you can turn almost any surface into a chalkboard.  For our purposes, though, we only needed a board--nothing fancy shmancy.


I ordered my Rustoleum chalkboard paint off of good ole' Amazon.  They sell it in spray paint or in a can.  It is supposed to be a really good brand to buy.  They do not, however, sell it at Lowes anymore which was fine by me.  I do love the Amazon!  

Our project was quite large, so we opted for the can and followed the instructions.



Then, Howard started framing it up.



He screwed the painted board directly into the frame that he built.  That was probably the hardest part.  It was a bit heavy.  We probably needed a third person for this part.


After three days, you can condition your board.  You just rub the side of a piece of chalk all over it. 

Then you're ready to go:



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How to Fix Broken Eyeshadow

We've all done it- accidentally dropped and broken an eyeshadow, a blush, a bronzer, or a powder.  In my case, that was just the list of last week's casualties.  Normally, I just chalk this up as a complete loss and toss the shattered powder into the trash as I add a replacement to my shopping list.  Until now...


Thanks to Free People's recent blog entry, we now have the answer we have all been waiting for, and it's super simple, and uses a product you already have in your bathroom cabinet.  Are you ready for this? RUBBING ALCOHOL!!!

The trick?  Simply add enough plain rubbing alcohol to the broken cosmetic offender- enough to saturate it, and then blend it with your finger until smooth.  Leave it to dry for a few hours and it should be as good as new again.

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Thursday, July 25, 2013

With Bonnies like this, who needs a Clyde?

Yes, that's the Harris Sisters alright, along with our sidekick, Charlotte, who also happens to be Misty's daughter.  This was taken at one of those hokey Old Time photo shops in Gatlinburg, TN so we honestly didn't expect much, but I guess when you are working with raw talent like this, your photos can't help but dazzle.  

Ok, so humble we are not, but then I suspect the real "Bonnie" was probably a bit of a character herself. 



And lest you think that we don't also know how to ham it up, I leave you with this variation of the above photo.   Either this doesn't end well for Misty, or she wins the Best Actress of the Year Award. 


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