House Design

Just when we want time to pass more slowly so we can savor the breezy summer nights watching sunsets at the beach, knitting on the porch or roasting marshmallows by the campfire, time whips by leaving some of us with farmers tans, sand in the rolled cuffs of our capris and another UFO (unfinished object or project) in our bags. But Ill take it because theres nothing like a Michigan summer no matter how fleeting.

Its July already, and Im finally getting my handmade tour of the state started. The tour dedicated to highlighting some of the best art and craft the state has to offer was delayed slightly due to a couple of unplanned motor home repairs.

But were ready to roll now and very glad we discovered the problems before we ventured too far from home.

So, if you have a favorite Michigan artist or crafter you think I should meet, or you want to show me what you make this summer, email and well see if we can hatch a creative plan of some sort.

Im also in the process of rounding up submissions for the fall and winter issues of CraftSanity Magazine, so if you have a project, pattern, recipe or story idea you want to submit, by all means get in touch. Contributors hail from around the globe, but every issue features Michigan talent.

Before I get back to organizing this summers handmade adventure, Im going to share a chalkboard paint project with you, so you can create erasable message boards for your home or make take-a-long chalkboards for the kids to use on long car trips.

While high-tech white boards have all but replaced the traditional chalkboard in the modern-day classroom, kids still love to draw with chalk.

A couple of weeks ago, my daughters and I started experimenting with homemade chalkboard paint. I priced out chalkboard paint, which is readily available in green and black, and decided that buying official chalkboard paint was going to cost more than I wanted to pay for a limited color palette.

So after doing some research online, I learned thatall you have to do to make chalkboard paint is mix a little unsanded grout into regular interior house paint. This means you can make a chalkboard in any color you want.

We couldnt decide on one color, so we made a rainbow of chalkboard clipboards using small jars of paint samples. (A special thanks to Valspar paint for supplying the samples for this project tutorial.)

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