XMAS THX

***I have been getting so much spam in my comments that I had to turn the verification back on sorry! I know it is a pain but the spamming is horrible.

I usually don't send pixmas cards but I like to send our thank you cards with updated pics of the kids.  I took a picture of them holding the chalkboard frame which said thank you and happy new year.  I wasn't sure how I was going to put it together until I saw that THE DIGI CHICK came out with a beautiful chalkboard themed kit called LIFE STORY.

It has so many gorgeous papers and elements to choose from.  I put the whole thing together in photoshop and printed on some white, Georgia pacific card stock. The matte card stock gave a  nice vintage look as opposed to photo paper which made the image too sharp.  I used elements from the kit for the inside also.

Very quick and easy but so nicely personalized.  That is what I love about doing digi. Yes, my son badly needed a haircut but I couldn't talk him in to getting one till a few days AFTER I took the photo and by then I was too lazy to take another. Teenage boys are so fun....

MOOSE

The design team members at THE HYBRID CHICK have started to challenge ourselves to come up with unique ways to use some of the designers templates from THE DIGI CHICK. This month we were asked to come up with ideas for the SOAP BOX by KELLEIGH RATZLAFF and this is what I came up with.  

It is a little box that I converted into a moose.  I think it would be really cute for an animal themed party.  I have a tutorial on how it was made HERE and check out what a couple of the other design team members come up with HERE.  

FAMILY SIGN

*Scroll down to bottom for a larger view.
We have a very long hallway which I use as a picture gallery.  I started out wanting to make a stenciled "family" sign to go on one of the walls but I saw the beautiful, vintage style letters in this VINTAGE CHARM  SCRAPBOOK KIT by Quirky Twerp and thought they might make a nice sign.

I started out with an old, light oak,  kitchen cabinet door front that I got from our local rehab place Construction Junction.  I can't remember the exact price but I know it cost less than 2 dollars. I didn't take a pic before I painted but it looked pretty much like this.

 I gave it two coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint in old White and distressed it a bit with some fine grit sandpaper.

Next up was the application of some brown glaze. I used Rustoleums Transformations glaze in Java Brown which I got at Home Depot.  I used a foam brush to apply as evenly as I could.  Make sure you wear rubber gloves and work in a well ventilated space. It looks yucky at this point but wait....

It is easy to wipe off as much stain as you like as long as you use a damp cloth.  The top shows what it looks like after wiping with a dry cloth and the bottom after a damp one.

It is always better to remove a lot and then add more if you want a darker glaze.  This was how it ended up after a couple applications/wipings of the glaze.

I printed out the word family from the digital kit onto tissue paper.  This is done by taping the tissue paper all around the edges onto a standard sheet of copy paper and printing as you normally would.  I sized them to fit the center rectangle spaced evenly.

 I used a newer product called Mod Podge Antique Mat. It is supposed to give your projects a vintage tone.   

I used 4 layers and it maybe, kinda looked a little vintagey????? Since the wood was already glazed it was hard to tell. I not only put it on the letters but the also the entire sign to keep it uniform.

The letters are so pretty and the Mod Podge blurred everything a little which added to the vintage feel.

Thanks so much for stopping by!