Organising with Chalkboard Paint

March 13, 2013.Reading time 2 minutes.

chalkboard paint organising jars by thisblogisnotforyou.com

This is a very quick DIY I did on the weekend. My messy boxes full of sewing supplies had been bothering me for quite a while. Normally I use plastic organising containers or empty cookie boxes, but buying containers can be quite expensive when you need a lot of them and I never find things after I put them in cookie boxes. I just have too many of them.

This DIY was inspired by a friend who sent me a picture of a craft/sewing room at IKEA Berlin. They had thread sorted in jars by colour. I liked the idea a lot – it looks so much better than plastic containers, is see-through (which is great for finding stuff!) and inexpensive.

I still had some chalkboard paint spray left from my previous chalkboard DIYs that I wanted to use for a weekend project.

It’s super simple, quick, decorative and inexpensive – sounds good?

chalkboard paint organising jars by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I covered the jars with tape and left out the different shapes for the labels. I sprayed it with chalkboard paint spray (2 coats) which only takes a few minutes. I let it dry for a few hours – just to be on the safe side (you don’t want to have fingerprints on it, do you?). You can spray the lids as well, if you want to.

I removed the tape (carefully!) and labelled the jars with wet-erase liquid chalk marker.

Tip: You can make corrections to the chalkboard paint using cotton buds and nail polish remover.

chalkboard paint organising jars by thisblogisnotforyou.com chalkboard chalkboard paint organising jars by thisblogisnotforyou.comorganising jars by thisblogisnotforyou1

DIY chalkboard hairslides

February 20, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

DIY chalkboard hairslides by thisblogisnotforyou.com Here’s another chalkboard project! It’s super quick and super simple and so much fun!
Just find some old hairslides or clips (I’m pretty sure you have them!) and spray paint them with chalkboard paint. In my last chalkboard paint project I explained briefly how to do this (please don’t spray inside the house!!)

The fun part is painting the hairslides after the spray paint is dry. (Let it rest for a few hours or over night, depending on how many layers you put on – just to be on the safe side! You don’t want to have permanent fingerprints on it – although that could be a fun DIY idea…) For painting them I used liquid chalk markers, you can easily get them online or in craft stores and they are quite inexpensive. Sure, you could use normal chalk instead but it smudges very quickly.

Let the pictures speak for themselves:

thisblogisnotforyou.com

We {love} Buttons – craft ideas with buttons

February 19, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

Wow, third button post in two days – I certainly love buttons 🙂

Recently, I got some really awesome retro ones from the boyfriend’s grandma. They were so pretty that I had to take pictures of them:

we love buttons - thisblogisnotforyou.com I especially love these. The black/white would be great on a b/w dress.

we love buttons - thisblogisnotforyou Cute for shorts or a white/dark blue blouse.

we love buttons - thisblogisnotforyou.com Definitely my favorites! They are quite heavyweighted, but the anchors are just adorable.

we love buttons - thisblogisnotforyou.com I’ve so many of these leather buttons but I am still searching for a project idea. Any ideas?

we love buttons - thisblogisnotforyou.com For a detachable collar or necklace?

we love buttons - thisblogisnotforyou.com I love these, especially the creme coloured ones. Unfortunately, I have only two of them…

craft ideas with buttons by thisblogisnotforyou.com I have so many lovely gold/silver buttons and had a look around for some craft/sewing inspiration. This is what I found:

Project Inspirations for Gold/Silver Buttons

I especially love the last one. (I have exactly the same buttons!!)

I also have loads of buttons in different sizes and colours. Here’s some inspiration I found:

Project Inspirations for Coloured Buttons

Hapa’s Eco Renewals has refashioned a pair of blue pants. Nice idea for all the colourful buttons I have left.

There will be definitely some button projects coming up in the near future 😉
Here are some ideas I’ve done so far:

– refashioning clothes with buttons
– Zipper and Buttons Bracelet
– Buttons and Beads Braclet

Refashion It! Adding Uniqueness to Your Clothes with Buttons

February 18, 2013.Reading time 2 minutes.

adding buttons to simple clothes by thisblogisnotforyou.com

We are starting this week with buttons! Why? – Because everyone love buttons! (If you don’t, please leave a comment saying why!)

I will share some more crafty button ideas later on, but let’s start with refashioning some clothes (because that’s what we love as well!).

What we don’t like at all? Spending loads of money shopping just to see her with the same shirt or dress a day later.

Adding some – fun – cute – nifty – buttons to your clothes makes them unique in only a few minutes. And you don’t need to be a seamstress to add some spice to your style. Just needle and thread – and buttons.

Especially skirts and shirts are great to refashion with a handful of pretty buttons. Here are some of my button-ideas:

adding buttons to simple clothes by thisblogisnotforyou.com

This simple tank top got sprinkled with super cute mini buttons I bought during one of my trips to Oslo. (This city has the best craft shop ever!)

This sexy black mini skirt seemed rather plain after a while, especially because I already have a similar one. So it got some posh golden buttons. Six buttons make a lot of difference, don’t you think?

adding buttons to simple clothes by thisblogisnotforyou.com

This skirt was already pretty cute, but I (of course!) saw someone wearing it only a few days after I bought it. Which made me do what? – Add some buttons. adding buttons to simple clothes by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Two handful of silver buttons. Looks a bit more rock star now.

adding buttons to simple clothes by thisblogisnotforyou.com

This cute skirt had done nothing wrong. It got some buttons anyway. I picked buttons in different sizes and in the same colours as the hearts/keys/locks. (To add more cuteness to the cuteness)

More button ideas coming up soon!

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Valentine’s DIY

February 12, 2013.Reading time 3 minutes.

Valentines DIY gift by thisblogisnotforyou.com As you may have noticed, I am not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. Well, at least not the commercialised holiday it has become.
Anyway, I love DIY.
I love handmade gifts.
And this one is so much better than just buying a box of chocolates!

What’s even better: It’s simple and quick to make and it’s totally up to you what’s on the “lottery ticket”.

What’s on mine? Truth or dare! Many, many fun, tricky or sometimes embarrassing pretty personal questions for couples and a few pretty fun dares (the pink tickets), if someone doesn’t want to answer a question he/she picked!

The boyfriend got one for his birthday and it’s so much fun picking and answering the questions together. Although I know what questions are in the jar, it’s always a surprise which one comes up next. (Yes, I put some in there, I’d rather not answer !) And you can add new one whenever you think of something fun.

Questions could be like:

– If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be?
– What is an item of clothing your other half has that you wish they would throw away?
– What is the nicest thing you ever did for a friend?
– When a movie would be made about your life, who would you want to play you? (We came up with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman. hehe. Well, just watch Garden State – they go really well together!)

jar of dates - valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou

But there are many other sweet ideas, if you don’t like the question thing or are afraid of dares.

You could for example fill the jar with dates! Just think of many different ideas of how one can spend a date night and write them on the lottery tickets. Whenever you don’t know what to do on date night – pick a surprise!

Or how about sweet little vouchers for your loved one?
What other ideas can you think of?

jar of dates - valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou 2

How to fill up the jar

All you need:

– paper & pencil (or printer)
– yarn or tape
– an empty jar
– ribbon/ gift tags & glue

You can use the grid below, click on it, download it and us it as a template. This way all your tickets will have the same size and you can easily add the text in a pretty font in Word or Photoshop and print it out. – Done!If you’re still looking for a Valentine’s Card to go with your jar of dates – have a look at my free Valentine’s printables!

jar of dates - valentines gift by thisblogisnotforyou 1