My dad turned 60 today! We had a great time, the two of us, going down to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms, and then grabbed sushi which I never get to get because my mom hates it. So some good does come from my brother's wild tour of Florida! We had a great time, and I have pictures of our trip at the end of the post.
On to the craft. I made a dry erase board out of a picture frame.
After we got back, Dad took a nap and I did another craft (this week has been quite packed!) I've had this picture frame for quite some time, and since I began redecorating my room it has been hanging up with nothing but the price tag showing. Yesterday when I went to Michaels I bought some scrapbook paper (7 sheets for $1), one of which I thought would look cute in my room for this craft. I have also decided that at some point in the future I will be repainting the frame from silver to a distressed white, but I was too excited with my success to wait until then to post it.
Materials:
- picture frame
- fancy shmancy paper
- embellishments
- scissors
I love the pink color of this paper. It was so cheap because it had some bends in it, but I figured I'm only using a little bit of it, so I could avoid the damaged bits. Especially for 14 cents.
The picture frame was 50 cents at a thrift store. I bought this a couple of years ago, and it's been stuffed away in my room. Finally put it to use!
First thing I did was trace and cut out a piece of paper the size of my picture frame. I used the backing of the frame as a guide.
Ta-da! Perfect fit.
This had been my original plan, but something was missing. I have a tendency of going overboard, but this was just not enough. Therefore, I appealed to my latest obsession...
Birds and birdcages! I desperately want a birdcage necklace, and have an idea so that should be coming soon. I looked around for ideas, and came up with these two ways to embellish my dry erase board. You could also use stickers, rub-ons, sequins, the sky's the limit! And you may have some leeway.
After printing and cutting out my shapes, I taped them to carbon paper and positioned it over my scrapbook paper. Carbon paper is fantastic, and my mom uses it all the time in her crafts. My original plan was to copy down my shapes, then paint over them in a cream color. That didn't end up happening (spoilers!)
After checking out my birdcage, I decided I liked the sketch look that the carbon paper made. I figure that if I get tired of it, I can always paint over it. I'm in no rush.
The finished paper. I. Love. It. I don't know what that dark shadow is in the middle of the paper- my camera's been having issues, and I think it picked out a ghost.
I'm a fan of how it turned out. If you knew me, you'd know I live by dry erase. I have two dry erase boards in my room in my apartment that I use constantly. One of them is right by my bed, so that I can jot things down as they come to me while I'm falling asleep. It's a great way to relax your mind when you start worrying about things you need to do. If you write them down, you know you won't forget them in the morning!
Some ideas for your own dry erase board:
- Keep one in your kitchen to write down your weekly menu or grocery list
- Keep one for each family member so you can write notes to them. Let everyone design their own, too, so that they're personalized! That'll also get kids to check them more.
- All about decorating for the seasons? This is perfect! Scrapbook paper is generally less than a dollar, so it's easy to change for each holiday.
- Keep by the phone for a quick and colorful way to jot down phone messages. Who could resist taking down information on such a cute board?
- Nervous about using glass? Go ahead and laminate it instead! Laminated paper works just as well, and you don't have to worry quite so much about it dropping and shattering ;)
Any other ideas? Please post them in the comments, or pictures of your own creation!
Finally, I thought I'd post some pictures of the cherry blossoms in DC. When I was in high school my mom would takes us out of school (a 'personal day') for a day to go down to DC and check out the blooms. It was always a huge production that we all looked forward to. Since college I've gone down once with friends on the weekend of the actual festival, until last year when they charged to check out the activities going on. It gets so crowded at the tidal basin, but it's fun to people watch. So many folks come out to take fancy pictures during that time for weddings, and everyone is dressed up in their best spring attire for family photos. I adore being so close to DC!
While down there we took a look at the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, which I hadn't had the opportunity to check out yet. I was impressed- they picked some fantastic quotes for around the memorial.
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| "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits." |
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| "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." |
We also swung by my favorite memorial, the Theodore Roosevelt memorial. I can just imagine spending a day there by one of the water features, reading a book and enjoying the people.
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| "The structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man or one party or one nation. It must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world." |
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| "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much. It is whether we promise enough for those who have too little." |
I'm amazed by how so many of these ideas still ring true today.
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| "Men and nature must work hand in hand. The throwing out of balance of nature throws out of balance also the lives of men. |
This is my favorite view by the tidal basin. We have countless pictures from over the years of just this view, but every year I can't help but grab another shot.
I hope you enjoyed this craft and my pictures. The dry erase board is a craft that will never look the same for two different people. I would love to see what you come up with!
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