With Spring finally arriving (fashionably late for most of us), I thought it was time to update our chalkboard sign and give you a new FREE Spring Flowers Chalkboard Art Printable to download, print, and hang up in your house.

FREE Spring Flowers Chalkboard Art Printable

I’m not sure where you are, but in North Carolina the flowers are blooming like the grand finale of a firework show. The irises in our yard have more blooms than I’ve ever seen. Their fragrance is pure fragrant perfume.

FREE Spring Flowers Chalkboard Art Printable

Our roses finally have buds, these are the first few blooms to come out. By next week I’m sure the rose bushes will be in full bloom.

FREE Spring Flowers Chalkboard Art Printable

It definitely feels like we’re going to have a short spring that will dive head first into summer. Until then, I hope you enjoy this FREE Spring Art Chalkboard Printable I made for you.

Click on the picture below and it will take you to the full resolution file.

FREE Spring Flowers Chalkboard Art Printable

Spring-Flowers-Chalkboard-Printable-Hi-Res

I’d love to hear from anyone who downloads my seasonal printables, especially this FREE Spring Flowers Chalkboard Art Printable. Let me know if you like them and if you want me to create one for summer. Last year I gave you a Fall Chalkboard Art Printable and a Winter Chalkboard Art Printable too.

Happy Spring to you!

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

Are you having a yard sale, a lemonade stand or an open house? This Chalkboard Arrow Sign is an easy DIY project that will bring more attention to your event.

But, let me back up to explain exactly how this Chalkboard Arrow Sign came to be. Have you been following #TheMysteryThriftOff challenge? This is the brainchild of Lindsey from Better After. She chose a handful of people to take part in this challenge. After scouring her local thrift shops for ugly and hopeless items, she shipped off the chosen items to those of us in the challenge. I signed up—because frankly—I love a challenge. And, I love saving ugly items from the landfill. This week she’ll be revealing all the Mystery Thrift Off participants transformations and you can vote on your favorite!

But, when the box arrived from Lindsey, I was terrified to open it up! I mean what if she had sent me a ceramic scabies bear!  Yikes. You can imagine my relief when I opened the box to reveal this dated Christmas village.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

Not too bad looking is it.? Truth be told, it was falling apart and the colors were hunter green, colonial blue, mauve and fleshy tan.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

I flipped it over to reveal that this was the fine art of Ms. Debbie Mumm in 1999. And someone paid $24.99 for it! I certainly hope Lindsey didn’t spend that much. I think 1999 is calling and they want their village back.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

I’ll quickly show you how I transformed this village and then we’ll get to the tutorial for how you can make your own Chalkboard Arrow Sign.

The hinges were easy removed from between the houses. I kept them for another project.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

The wooden embellishments were popped off with a pry bar.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

I also saved these embellishments for a future project.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

To create the arrow shape, I chose the middle tall building and cut off the chimney with my Dremel Multi-max.

Chalkboard Arrow Sign (Mystery Thrift Off) | Pretty Handy Girl

Here’s where you can pick up the tutorial. 🙂

Materials:

  • 9″ x 14″ piece of smooth plywood, masonite or wood board
  • Jigsaw
  • Sander
  • Valspar Gray Spray Primer
  • Chalkboard paint
  • Foam roller
  • Chalk Ink
  • 1″ x 1″ square garden stake (look in the garden section of Lowe’s)
  • Finish Nails
  • Wood glue

Instructions:

Print out the Chalkboard Arrow Template. It should fit on a legal sheet of paper. Cut out the template and transfer the shape to your wood.

Use a jigsaw to cut out the shape. Sand any rough edges from your plywood. Read more

Chalkboard Gift Tags | Pretty Handy Girl

Chalkboard Gift Tags | Pretty Handy Girl

Want a great way to dress up gifts? Make these easy chalkboard gift tags for your holiday or birthday gifts. Purchase some inexpensive wood plaques or cut some masonite scraps and paint them with chalkboard paint.

Drill a few holes and thread them onto the ribbon on the gift. After the present has been opened the recipient can hang the chalkboard tag on their door or use them to label bins.

Materials:

  • Unfinished wood plaques (I bought mine at Michaels)
  • Small rectangular scraps of masonite
  • Chalkboard paint (spray or brush on works fine)
  • Screw eyes
  • Pliers
  • Drill
  • Drill Bits
  • Ribbon or rope
  • Chalk

Instructions:

Prep your tags by painting them with chalkboard paint. Typically I like to use two coats.

Drill holes in the top of the plaque (slightly smaller than the screw eye.)

Chalkboard Gift Tags | Pretty Handy Girl

Turn a screw eye into the hole. Pliers are helpful when it gets tough to turn. Read more

Build Your Own Giant Chalkboard | Pretty Handy Girl

Build Your Own Giant Chalkboard | Pretty Handy Girl

Have you scoured antique stores or Craig’s List looking for a big giant vintage chalkboard? Those vintage school green chalkboards are highly sought after. But, hard to find. I have good news for you! You can build a Giant Chalkboard any size you want! (Although, typically you’ll be restricted to 4′ x 8′ if you want to use a sheet of masonite.) And you can mix your own chalkboard paint in any color.

Take out your notebooks, your pencils, and get ready to take notes.

Materials:

  • Masonite sheet cut to desired size (mine is 22″ x 48″)
  • 1×4″ pine boards for frame
  • 1 cup flat latex paint in color you desire
  • 2 tbsp. of unsanded grout
  • Pencil
  • Stain
  • White paint
  • Paint brush
  • Sanding block
  • Container to mix paint in
  • Kreg Jig
  • Drill
  • 1 1/4 inch pocket screws
  • Staplegun
  • 1/2″ staples

Instructions:

Build Your Own Giant Chalkboard | Pretty Handy Girl

Pour 2 tbsp. of unsanded grout into your empty container. Add 1 cup of flat latex paint and stir well. (Yes, I used satin and it still worked.)

Build Your Own Giant Chalkboard | Pretty Handy Girl

Paint the masonite with the chalkboard paint. Pull your brush in one direction. Then smooth out the paint by dragging the brush in a perpendicular direction.

Build Your Own Giant Chalkboard | Pretty Handy Girl

Let the paint dry. Lightly sand and add a second coat of chalkboard paint.

Build Your Own Giant Chalkboard | Pretty Handy Girl

Let that coat dry and sand smooth.

Assembling the chalkboard frame: Read more

DIY Chalkboard Memo Board (4th grade project) | Pretty Handy Girl

DIY Chalkboard Memo Board (4th grade project) | Pretty Handy Girl

Before the end of the school year a REALLY GOOD friend of mine asked if I would give a talk in her daughter’s class about what I do for a living. I hemmed and hawed because I rarely have the free time. But, the main reason I was hesitant was because I didn’t know how to talk to 4th graders about what I do. Saying I’m a blogger is something that is hard for me to vocalize. “I write a blog” sounds simple and easy. But, in actuality, I do so many other things to make this blog a reality. Just a few of my job descriptions are: writer, photographer, builder, crafter, teacher, photo editor, business woman, manager, social media coordinator, graphic designer, web designer and all around handy girl! How could I explain all of that to the students?

Suddenly, an idea hit me! I would waltz into that classroom and use my platform to break down the stereotypes about women and handy people within 30 minutes (or less!) Then I’d empower the 4th grade students by letting them build their own chalkboard memo board AND use a power tool! Lofty goals, but I felt sure I could do it. Little did I know that the students wouldn’t be the only one empowered.

The quiz:

I started out by talking to the kids about what a handy person is. They shared terms that fit the definition of a handy person: fixes things, builder, carpenter, plumber, woodworker, and home improvement specialist. Then I showed them a slide presentation and gave the kids a quiz asking them to tell me which of these people are handy:

DIY Chalkboard Memo Board (4th grade project) | Pretty Handy Girl

I showed them one picture at a time and as expected, they got all of the answers wrong.

The answers: Read more