Cozy Winter Weekend Gifts!

Horry! It's almost here! This weekend is a little mini reunion with my college friends. In celebration of a spa weekend we took during college in the middle of a blizzard to freezing cold Vermont, we are meeting in Boston to relax-refresh-renew and have a blast!

We are all contributing in different ways---and I am spa coordinator! I booked the appointments at Exhale Boston, and have researched Mani/Pedis and yoga classes.

For a little spa weekend favor, I am continuing on the "New Year is a blank slate" theme and am literally giving gifts of, you guessed it! Blank Slates. Only these will be much more decorative and inspirational then the yucky green ones from elementary school streaked with dried yellow chalk water (ew!).

You can make this little craft too for less than $5!!! All you need are three simple items and three simple steps. They are so simple you may even be angry with me for bothering to go through them since it doesn't take a Martha Stewart to figure this craft out...but I am excited about them so thanks for letting me share!

1. Round up a frame you are no longer using or buy a cute/cheap one from the store. (I found silver ones and painted them white but don't worry they weren't the ones below. The photo is merely an example.)

photo by Vintage Love at Flickr

2. Get thee to a local craft store. If it's AC MOORE or MICHAELS feel free to ignore the majority of tacky goods they have up at the front. Head to the paint section and pick up a bottle of Chalkboard paint. If you don't like the color of the frame you are using, pick up a color you do like. Little bottles of Acrylic paint work well too but are much more hassle with the brushes and what not. We are going for a pretty stinkin' easy craft here.

Take it home and sssssspray that glass black! (or green if that's your thing). Let Dry.

3. Put the glass into the frame and girl, it is finished!

Told you that was easy! And oh so satisfying. Relaxing even. I love relaxing crafts much more then stressful crafts. And you can really make this little number in any size, any color, any style and for any purpose!

• Grocery Lists
  
• Inspiring words
• Love messages to your honey
• Dinner Party Menu
• How about your list of New Years Resolutions, hmmmm?

Of course there are many ways you could embellish the frame---- Like adding a pretty ribbon to hang it with, or painting a free hand design around the edge of the frame, or turning it into a calendar like Martha Stewart did in the January 2010 issue of Living. But if you want to make this more complicated...you are on your own! I'm leavin' it here.

I am off to pack for the weekend! Hope yours is wonderful!