A while ago I got this idea to change a picture frame into a chalkboard frame and use it in the kitchen. I had a picture in my mind of the perfect frame and wanted one of those really chunky ornate ones. Since we have moved into this apartment I have been looking all over for the frame but couldn't seem to find the right one. Will put his foot down and said no to this one from IKEA.

And honestly it wasn't quite what I was looking for and the $30 price tag seemed a little high for an IKEA find. Also, Will didn't like the chalkboard idea and instead wanted to use dry erase board which I wasn't really too fond of. So I started feeling like this project was never going to happen and the wall in my kitchen would forever be bare. But then I spotted it! I was walking through the aisles of Hobby Lobby and found this adorable cork board with a great frame. Bummer that it was a cork board and not a picture frame though.

 After a little investigation it turned out that it actually was a picture frame but instead of putting glass in it they replaced it with cork. So I went to their framing department and had them cut a piece of glass to fit. A quick stop by the fabric department for some burlap and voilà! I decided to paint the frame green to give a nice pop of color in the kitchen.

Don't be fooled by the picture. This job definitely should have been done with spray paint but I don't really have an ideal place to spray paint and didn't feel like carrying the whole project down to the grass in the Texas heat. So after many coats, throwing away many cheap paintbrushes because they left bristles behind, a trip to the store to get a better quality brush, and a coat of protective enamel it was finished! 

Right now it is being used as a to do list and a place to write down things that I need to get. When we have guests over I write the menu for the night on it.

There it is in our apparently very dark kitchen. Hmm I really should take better pictures of my projects.

I am going to start posting pictures of our apartment and the projects that I have been working on to make this apartment feel more like our home. "But Erin, how do you have time to work on these projects and get back to blogging?" you ask. Why because I passed the NCLEX! Yep, no more studying for me. Now I just need to find a job.

So one of the first projects I made for this apartment was a picture for the entryway. I wanted something simple and that would be easy to do. This is what it turned out to be:

Sorry that the pictures aren't very good. It is in a funny corner to photograph and right next to a window. I just love how this turned out and it was so simple to make! I took a picture frame with a mat from IKEA, some fabric, and a piece of tan cardstock and made this in just a few minutes. Will and I created the monogram on our computer and printed it out. I lined that up on the fabric and used a little hot glue to keep it in place. I centered the cardstock and fabric in the picture frame and Hubby hung it up for me. That was all it took to add a little welcome to our apartment.