Chick-a-dee Chalkboards

So, last Christmas, my family and I did a "Homemade" Christmas, meaning that the gifts we exchanged were homemade and not costly.  So, after sometime of thinking about it, I figured out what I wanted to make. 

A little background: I get so excited at the thought of using power tools, so I do try to come up with any reason at all to make it happen.  One day, I will own my own table saw, and my unfinished basement will be converted into a wood shop. 

Now, as a disclaimer, I do not follow technical safety protocol as I don't even own a work bench.  But I, ever so carefully, make do by fashioning a few similarly sized ice chests or a few seating benches into some pretty decent saw horses.  I know, I need to watch the free section of Craigslist more often... Any who, the moral of the story: Be careful, tools are sharp.  Enough said.

So, the Chick-a-dee Chalkboards:

Scrap wood
Chalk board paint (found some in Home Depot for cheap on clearance in the paint dept. a few months back- SCORE!)
Sander/ Sandpaper
Jigsaw
Acrylic paint (in color of choice)
Metal hangers
Drill and drill bit
Metal snips

Drew it out.  These planks were left over from a shelf I made based on the plans from Ana-White.com (Which by the way is an amazing website).

 

 

Used the Jig to cut roughly along the lines I drew.  Please be careful when handling power tools.  It's probably best if you use a real work bench instead of my make shift work bench like this (this would actually be a wooden bench I made Summer 2012 and painted to match our front porch). 

Sand edges and front smooth.  You can use an electric or a sanding block.

 

 

Paint, paint, paint.  I did 3 layers.  May not have needed so much had I used primer.  Meh.

 

I used an old, dry rag to paint around the edges.  I was going for imperfect, so just a rough, quick go over did the job.  Then paint the little eye and eye lashes (I used my kids crummy paint brushes, so don't fret if you don't have the fancy stuff, you could probably even use a tooth pick).  I then drilled holes for the tail "feathers", hanger, and legs (Probably could have don't this BEFORE the paint, but it turned out just fine).  Next, I snipped some metal hangers and bent them through the holes I drilled.  Pretty straight forward.  I wanted to make it, therefore, I did. 

Its funny how these days, making things with your hands seems so far fetched.  I really enjoyed this little project because I felt so empowered to make my little Chick-a-dees from stuff I had around my house, and had a vision of what I wanted to do- and it worked!  I can follow directions, but to create your own, to write your own directions, no matter how big or how small your Chick-a-dee may be- its very satisfying.  So, don't be afraid of writing your own instructions, of envisioning your own project.  Have fun with it.  :)