Monday, November 28, 2011

DIY - Chalkboard

Hi everyone. This is my very first tutorial, EVER!! I am excited...can ya tell? LOL. I have been trying to figure out what to do for a tutorial for a while now and finally decided to do a tutorial using chalkboard fabric...that's right, I said chalkboard fabric. I had no idea this stuff existed until a little while back. Ok, so lets get started. First, you will need an old picture frame. Any frame will do. I chose this frame because it is gross looking and will allow for me to spray paint it at a later time. If you happen to run across a frame that has no glass, it will be perfect for this project.

Ok, after you choose your frame, you can leave it as is, or you may decide to glam it up a little. I chose to spray paint mine. I used Metallic Silver to spray mine with because I had some laying around the house from a previous project. Now it's time for the chalkboard fabric. This can be purchased online. It comes on a huge roll so there will be plenty for future projects. All you do is trace out the inside of the frame and add about an inch to all four sides. this will allow plenty of extra room for finishing the back of the frame.


Chalkboard fabric is great. It is very durable. Now, you will need to get the fabric ready for using it. To cure the fabric, you will need to take a piece of chalk and lay it flat. You will rub the entire surface of the fabric with the chalk.


When you are done, you can wipe off the excess chalk.



Now we are ready to glue the fabric to the backing that came with the frame. If there was no backing with it, have no fear, we can make one quite easily. To do this, take a, old piece of cardboard, lay the frame down, trace the inside of the frame and cut it out. This will work just fine for the backing on this project.


Ok, so here is where it got tricky for me. I used E-6000 and a sponge brush to adhere the fabric to the frame backing. For future reference, I will say this. E-6000 is very thick. I would probably use a fabric glue the next time because the E-6000 didn't spread very well. For this project, you will need to adhere the entire piece of fabric to the backing. This is very important because if you don't, there will be bubbles in the fabric which will be noticable. Simply apply the glue and spread it over the entire piece of fabric.

When you are done applying the glue, lay the backing, evenly centered, over the piece of fabric. Be sure to press it on there good to create an even seal. Now take the edges and wrap them tightly to the back of the frame. To get the corners to lay flat, simply cut off the flap and make sure to lay the pieces flat on the backing. If you see you need more glue, apply now. Do this for all four corners.

It is super important that you let the glue completely dry before moving to the next step. It is also important that you let it dry while laying on a flat surface. This will help ensure you have no air bubbles in the fabric.

When the glue is dry, take the chalkboard piece and put it in the frame. Fold down the edging that holds the piece in place and you are ready to use your new chalkboard. This is great for leaving messages for the family, letting the kiddos write out their math homework problems, or just let them draw on it when they are bored. =)



I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions, please let me know, or if you have suggestions on how to improve the project, I would love to hear them too. Have a great day, and God Bless!!!!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

My New Find

Hi there. Welcome to my new followers. I am so excited. Ok, so today's blog really has nothing to do with my sewing or craftiness...it is really about my love for all things electronic. I have an iPhone, and for those of you that know about the iPhone, you have to buy all your cool ringtones, etc. Well, today while I was doing some research on how to enhance my photos in photoshop, I ran across a youtube video on how to get ringtones for the Android and iPhone based phones. I was super excited about this because $1.29 per ringtone gets a little ridiculous if you are like me and want a different ringtone for most of your contacts.

If you are interested, you can click here for the video. It is quite cool. I tried it and it works!! You basically just use the songs you have on your computer and create your own ringtone. You choose the part of the song you want. It is super easy to use. The actual website can be found here. I hope this will be of some use to you. I loved finding new things, esp FREE things. =)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Day 2 - My Blogging Experience

Today I decided to figure out how to make my own tabs at the top of my page. I googled it and found an AWESOME link for a you tube video. It was super helpful!! I now have my links where you will now be able to click on my facebook tab for instance, and be connected directly to my facebook page. How cool is that, LOL. I also have a tab for my Etsy store. I am so excited about what I learned today. =D

I can my lesson today on making my page customized to my own needs was quite fun. If you too are looking for info on how to set up your own tabs, check out this youtube video http://youtu.be/Jz4dHZrjprk and hopefully you will find it as helpful as I did!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Taking the Plunge



Well, here it is...I am taking the plunge into the world of Blogging. I have read and subscribed to many of the last couple of years so I decided to join in on the fun. I hope my blog will be fun, crafty and creative for all those reading it. Periodically, I will post tutorials on different things.

To get to know me, I thought I would share a little about myself and Alicia's Sew Amazing Creations. I, of course, am Alicia, the owner and designer of Alicia's Sew Amazing Creations. I started sewing some years back because I needed some curtains for my bedroom...nothing fancy, just straight panels. I have always been a crafty person and loved the idea of getting to use my mom's sewing machine. (Back then I had to borrow a sewing machine because I didn't have one of my own.) I was really pleased with my curtains so I decided one day to but a really easy pattern to make an outfit for my step-daughter. This was a challenge for me because I had never read a pattern before and all the terminology was confusing to me. I thought I did a fabulous job on that outfit...today, looking back, I can tell you that outfit was nowhere near fabulous, LOL. I didn't sew for a while except if I needed something or someone wanted some simple curtains. Then I started making pillowcase dresses and was fun for a while but one day, I ran across two girls making patterns and selling them on Facebook. I was in love!! That is when I decided to get to sewing full time instead of just spuradically as the mood hit me.

Now, after years of off and on sewing, I am in full swing and love sewing, especially little girls' clothing. I still do the curtains and pocketbooks, etc. My main selling is done now from my Facebook account and I also have an etsy account. For those out there interested in my creations, feel free to check out my stuff at www.facebook.com/alicias.sew.amazing.creations.

This will be a learning experience for me, so bare with me as I learn about blogging. I hope all of you enjoy and feel free to leave me posts if there is anything specific you want to know about sewing or crafting. I am not an expert but I can let you in on my little secrets. =)