I Don't Belieeeeve It!!

Ok, so I just wanted to let you all know that I was at none other than Joann's the other day and guess what I found? Chalkcloth!!! As Noah would tell me, 'I don't belieeeeve it!' Yup, yup, it's true!!

I know many of you have commented or emailed me regarding where I bought my chalkcloth and I told you to head to Vogue Fabrics and the Oil Cloth Addict on Etsy but now you can also check out Joann's...Woo Hoo for buying in store! Oh, and just an FYI, their chalkcloth is labeled Blackboard Fabric and is only sold in 28 inch width so if you need a bigger piece, like for this table cover, than you'll probably need to order it online.

The label it comes with tells you everything you need to know, I think they were reading my mind ;)

Alright, so that's it! I just wanted to share my cool find with you all! Hopefully your Joann's sells some. AAAANND, mine was only $4.99/yard too, so not too shabby especially if you throw in a 40% or 50% off coupon on top of that! For bigger pieces or oil cloth I would still highly recommend the Oil Cloth Addict, her print choices are off the wall plus she also sells some laminated cotton prints that are BPA free and CPSIA compliant...can't beat that!

Happy Friday Everyone!

ChalkCloth/Oil Cloth Placemat Tutorial

Ok, so I am on a roll with the chalkcloth projects right now...hope you don't mind!?! This is another super easy one and very practical too! It's a chalkcloth/oil cloth placemat...another genius idea, right? It's perfect to entertain the kiddies while you prep dinner or are out at a restaurant and are waiting and man, sometimes you are WAITING for your food for a VERY long time! This placemat will appease the crowd :)

Let's take a look-sie at what I'm a-talking about:

Ahhh, me likey!

It's oil cloth on one side...the pretty side...or the side that you can leave on your table all day long, looking nice and adult-like. Then, the other side is chalkcloth...with a pocket for chalk! So you just flip it over while the little ones are waiting for dinner and they can color to their hearts content! Heavenly, isn't it!

Ok, so here is what you need to make one of your own...or many...I'd make many if I were you!

ChalkCloth/Oil Cloth Placemats (this is what you need to make one placemat)

1 piece of 12 inch x 17 inch oil cloth

1 piece of 12 inch by 17 inch chalkcloth

1 small scrap of oil cloth measuring 4 inches x 7 inches

1 package of Extra Wide Double Fold bias tape (in coordinating color)

chalk

thread, sewing machine

*I used a microtex 80/12 needle in my sewing machine to sew through the oil and chalkcloth with absolutley no problems.

First, cut a piece of oil cloth to 12 inch x 17 inch dimensions. I made two placemats so I did this twice!

Then, cut two smaller (for two placemats) pieces of oil cloth measuring 4 inches x 7 inches. This will become your chalk pocket!

Then, cut 2 pieces of chalkcloth measuring 12 inches by 17 inches...again, I did two cause I made two placemats!

Then, prep your chalkcloth by rubbing a piece of chalk on it's side left to right and up and down. Wipe off and do it one more time!

Next, get your chalk pocket piece(s) and fold the bottom (shorter edge) up two inches. Straight stitch both sides together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Then, grab your bias tape and open it so you can see the two fold edges facing inward. Place the center crease so that it's flush with the edge of the chalk/oilcloth edge. You should now have one fold on the chalkcloth side and the other fold on the oil cloth side.

*I cut the bias tape for each edge separately and stitched it into place, this way I avoided having to bend the bias tape around the corners of the placemat :)

Do this to the two long edges and then one of the short edges...leaving one side undone!

Straight stitch with a 3/8 inch seam allowance, basically make sure you catch both sides of your bias tape when sewing it in place!

OK, so now with the edge we left undone, place your chalk pocket so that it is flush with the short edge of the chalkcloth/oil cloth edge. Then place your bias tape on top of this and sew into place (see pic above).

Another look at the chalk pocket sewn underneath the right edge's bias tape.

And that's it folks...Placemat complete!

Super easy, right!!

Now go make a bunch more :)

Here's the pretty backside of the placemat.

You would never know it was a kids' chalkcloth placemat on the reverse side...so sneaky!!

Flip it over and Voila!

A fun kids' entertainment center to draw on while they wait for dinner!

Pretty and Practical.

Dinner prep has never been so easy!

ChalkCloth Table Cover Tutorial

Since we have been having such lovely weather here lately and my kidlets have been running amuck outside a lot, I thought it would be a good idea to bring up our Little Tikes picnic table from the basement...it's little home in the winter time. Any of you have one of these? They are super great, aren't they!?!

We keep ours out on our screened-in porch in spring through fall and there the kids can do messy art projects and eat lunch and snacks too! Rock on! I happened to find mine for $10 at a garage sale...can I get a Woot Woot!

I love garage sales, they pull at my heartstrings just so. I am such a magnet for finding Little Tikes stuff too...it's a complete adrenaline rush for me when I find them at amazingly cheap prices! I have to say I am the proud owner of the picnic table as well as 4 cozy coupes (for all the playdates we have...no crying over not having one now!) and all were bought for $5 a piece!! What a bargain, eh, life is great sometimes, no?

Anyways, these days Noah and Penny are really into coloring and making monster-sized messes the way kids do. We go through so much paper, it's sick! I thought it would be a good idea to make them a table cloth out of chalkcloth for their little picnic table so they could color and be messy as much as they wanted without wasting all the paper...genius, pure genius I tell you!

Want to make one for your little ones too? It's super easy...pinky swear!

Summer Fun here we come!

ChalkCloth Table Cover

1 large piece of chalkcloth (My Little Tikes picnic table measured 39 inches by 27 inches. I added 3 inches per side for the table cloth to hang down and snap together. So, my total measurements were 45 inches long x 33 inches wide!)

4 heavy duty snaps (5/8 inch) or a heavy duty snap pliers kit

scissors

edge punch

chalk (for prepping your chalkcloth and for drawing afterwards!)

So, I started with owning one of these little suckers, above, but if you have a different table just measure the length and width and add a few inches for a border to hang down on the sides so you can snap it together. That way it's nice and snug around your table.

First, cut 2.5 inch squares out of the corners...if you fold your chalkcloth in half you'll only have to cut squares two time...yeah for saving some time!

Also, just so you know, I started with a 2.5 inch square but once I was ready to put my snaps in I cut a little more here and there so that the snaps matched up and the cover fit nice and tight over the table. You may need to adjust the corners a bit too!

Next, I prepped my chalkcloth. To do this you take a piece of chalk and rub it left and right and up and down until the whole thing is covered in chalk. Wipe away and do it again. Not sure why exactly it needs to be done, I got my info from the Oil Cloth Addict, I 'll just take her word for it!

Then, I decided I wanted to pretty up the edges of the chalkcloth. So, I found an edge punch...mine is from Fiskars and it's the 'threading waters' border punch. I just punched the edges all the way around...simple simon!

Let's just take a look at those beautiful edges, shall we?

Ahhh yes, beautiful indeed!

Then, I used my pliers kit, like the one above (I found mine at Joann's), to press in four heavy duty 5/8 inch snaps to each of the four corners. You could probably just hammer them in but what can I say, I'm a wimp when it comes to snaps and eyelets! Muscles, what muscles???

Then, just press in your snaps to all four corners. Make sure you have the cap and stud parts facing the right direction before you press them in place so they snap together right!!

And guess what kids??? You're all finished!

Wasn't that easy and fast, my kidlets are STILL sleeping!!

And, no sewing required...totally awesome!

All done...see my pretty little edges there?

Lovely!

(Just don't mind the chalk dust...avert all eyes from that part of the picture please!)

I found Dustless Chalk at a Teacher Supply store near me...not sure what makes it dustless it still seems dusty to me...but I bought into it anyways, oh well!

Now go find some chalk and draw to your little heart's content!

Have Fun!