Cute AND Easy DIY Chalkboard

For quite some time now, I've been meaning to buy some chalkboard paint.  If you don't know what that is... well, it's a paint that you can put on many surfaces, and once it dries, draw on it with chalk!  It usually comes in black but you can also buy it in white and have it tinted to any color at the store.

Here's how I thought of it.  I was just chilling in my house, studying for my finals when I decided I needed a break.  My dad had just come home from a rummage/garage sale and bought me a used canvas.  He usually gets them for me so I can paint over them or use them for crafts.  So I took it, trying to think of ideas of what to do with it, when I remembered this cute DIY I saw a couple years ago.  It was an entire wall covered in chalkboard paint and colored with designs in chalk.  To be honest, I thought it was the neatest thing I've ever seen and begged me parents to let me do it to my room (which of course they said no to).  While thinking about it today, I realized I could do a mini version of it on a canvas.

So Step 1 is to buy yourself a canvas, or an old thrift shop painting with a relatively flat surface.

Obviously, you're going to need to buy yourself some chalkboard paint (of any color you desire).***Or you could make your own but I don't have any experience with that so I don't know....***  I read on lots of blogs that a foam brush works well with this sort of project.  My dad happened to have one around but you can also buy one at any hardware or paint store for less than a dollar.  You're also going to want a paint stick to SLOWLY mix up the paint.

After one coat, I could still see some of the old paint showing through after only one coat...

So I did one more and let it dry overnight.

Once it's completely dry, you should 'condition' it to toughen it up a bit.  I found many horror stories from other bloggers who hadn't conditioned their chalkboard before using it... Once they drew a line, it stayed there and wouldn't come off!  So don't skip this step because it is vital to having a functioning chalkboard.  ***If you plan on making a chalkboard that will be just for decoration, then skip this step and continue on to decorating.***  All you need is a piece of chalk; just turn it on it's side and scrape it all over the painted area.

You can see that after this step that it looks less like a black painting and more like a chalkboard.

But of course, it's not complete without drawing on it a bit!

And there you have it, a cute DIY Chalkboard!  I hope you all enjoyed this post, because I definitely had fun making this!  If you don't like the idea of painting on a canvas, you can make a chalkboard on other bases...

A mirror, a piece of wood, and even a mug are all good alternatives (although the steps might be a bit different, but it's the same basics)

Currently jamming to: Upside Down by Jack Johnson

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Sorry, I've Been A Busy Bee

Sorry for not posting consistently for this last week... My school just ended on Friday, so I was busy studying the whole time that week (ugh).  And all today my mom made me do some 'spring cleaning' because my room has been such a mess lately.  I literally haven't cleaned my desk since a month ago so things have been piling up to the point where I can't even see any of it's surface!  But I finally got that out of the way so that's good.  Yesterday after my last exam, I went shopping with my mom and my sister and got some sweet items which I'll blog about later...  I'm really happy about my blog right now; the design still needs to be tweaked but whenever I post, I feel accomplished and like I'm doing something rather than just sitting around all day.  

This was a short one, but I didn't want anyone to think I was being lazy and slacking off with my posting.  Overall, I'm super excited to be done with school because I am soo ready for summer!  By the way, I will definitely be more active now that I actually have time to blog.


Currently listening to: Fidelity by Regina Spektor

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Laptop Problems Aghh

So my laptop has been doing this really strange thing to me lately and I kind of want to throw it at a wall and chuck rocks at it grr.

First, let me backup.  I have a Windows 8 (touchscreen) that I bought around Christmas time 2013.  I have been loving it because of it's convenience.  Actually, I often forget what I am doing whenever I'm using any other computer... I'll try to touch the screen and then get confused when it doesn't work. My friends always laugh at me for it haha.  Hopefully I will train myself to only touch a screen when I am using my laptop in the comfort of my own home.  

Moving on.  So I was just typing up a paper for school when all of a sudden, the document went down (like into the little bar at the bottom; not completely exited out).  At first, I though maybe I had accidentally touched something, but then it happened again!  Since the screen makes a little circle whenever you touch it, I could see where it was freaking out (the upper right area).  I probably dropped it hard or banged it against something on accident, causing some kind of hardware problem. Hopefully it's not any kind of water damage.

WOW IT JUST DID IT AGAIN AGH THANKS LAPTOP FOR ALMOST DELETING THIS ENTIRE POST.  Thank god for auto-save!

I'm crossing my fingers that I won't have to go out and buy a new one :/

UPDATE:

So I figured out that this only happens the first time I use my laptop... if I close it to take a break and come back a few minutes later, the problem's gone!  Yay!  It is a bit annoying, but I can live with it.  :)

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It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Spring!

Hooray!

I was just walking home from my bus stop after school today when I noticed a few things.

• First of all, I wasn't shivering; rather I was on the verge of sweating because it was a bit humid.
• It wasn't raining or snowing or any other type of weather that ISN'T supposed to be happening in Spring (as it has been for the last month)
• The birds were singing pleasantly *chirp chirp* 

• There was a gorgeous cherry blossom tree starting to bloom in the front yard of my neighbors house.

• Green was popping up everywhere and my street was looking absolutely gorgeous.

• And I even saw a cute wittle bunny chewing the grass from my front yard!

So overall it was a great day, and I was really feeling the good weather!  The weather channel had said it was going to rain, but then it didn't so ya.  I also turned in a gigantic project for school, so I am going to take a relaxing bath tonight.  I'll probably post something about that later...

See ya!

UPDATE:

So it did end up raining... to the point of flash flood warnings for two hours.

While my dog was freaking out from the lightning/thunder, I managed to get this sweet shot!  It hailed for a little bit so I didn't take a bath being as I wouldn't be able to relax from all the noise.  I guess it'll just have to be postponed til another day *sigh*.  

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Happy Mother's Day

This morning after going to church, I waitressed (is that even a word?) for a community Mother's Day brunch.  I was the coffee and water person, along with two other highschoolers - apparently it's a 'big kid' job haha.  Occasionally I had to bus a few tables (clean up their plates) and set up new ones for incoming diners.  Overall it was a lot of fun but I know I would never make it as an actual waitress because my feet ached after only three hours of serving!  When I got home, I relaxed because I have a big project due tomorrow for school and I've barely gotten started on it *oops*.
But first, I decided to procrastinate some more by taking a few pictures:

My dad bought my mom two roses after church this morning as he always does on Mothers Day.

More on the topic of flowers, I am quite disappointed.  We've had really crummy weather lately; it barely even feels like spring!  But today was actually pretty nice and warm with a slight breeze.  So I've been watching our garden over these last few weeks for buds since they should already be blooming at this point in the year.  Sadly, these were the only two types of flowers I could find:

 I thought this bright yellow daffodil was a nice contrast to all the other currently green and brown plants.

To be honest, I actually don't know what these are (my mom is the knowledgeable gardener at my house) but the purple/blue shade is cute.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Mothers Day, and if you're a mother reading this, then go you!

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Shoe Peeves

It is currently spring, but I felt the need to touch on this topic; footwear.
I live in Wisconsin, U.S.A and girls here have been constantly wearing one of these two shoes below:

Moccasins:

Now, I think it is okay if you wear them once in a while when it matches well or if you're feeling sort of bummy, but on a daily basis?  I think that's just too much.

But not to completely blast at moccasins, I do think these ones with a fringe are rather cute!

The Dreaded Pair of UGG Boots:

I CANNOT stand them!  When people first started wearing them, I didn't see what the big deal was.  Sure the insides feel like a baby's bum and they're super warm for the winter, but other then that...?  If you wear them in the snow once, they get water marks, they make practically every-ones legs look stumpy, and they cost over a hundred dollars for a decent pair!  Personally, I would in most cases not pay that much for a pair of shoes, so I don't understand why people are choosing to do so.

This photo made me chuckle *heh heh* because it's quite accurate, being that I have a little sister as well!
I'm sorry if this post offended you in any way.  I probably don't like these types of shoes because they are unoriginal and I tend to like things that are unique.  Whenever I see someone wearing the same thing as me, I will usually stop wearing it out fear that I am becoming dull.
Also, wow this was my first mini rant! hahaha that actually makes me so happy.

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Hello, hola, bonjour, guten tag, ciao!

Hello so far non-existent blog readers!

I'm just a girl that's looking to spice up things and make life a bit more interesting.  Right now, I feel like I am on a never-ending routine of things that I HAVE to do (ugh).  So this idea came to me: to write out my thoughts onto the internet.  I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to be doing with this blog, or what sort of content will be posted, so just bear with me.  

In the future, I hope to post things around these areas:

• Pictures of places I have been
• My thoughts (such as random things I've been thinking about)
• Recipes
• Things about me
• Music reviews/new discoveries
• Beauty product reviews
• My musical life
• Videos and pictures I either take or just find interesting

But I don't know yet, so please do not hold it against me if I don't live up to these standards.  As the days go on, I will have hopefully figured out what's going on here.  I've never done anything like this before *gulps* so I really hope it will work out!

Nika

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