My 4th of July Mantel - Oh how I love you so!

So by now, we all know that I LOVE the 4th of July.... and now with a bigger house, we can decorate more! I'm sure my husband just loves that ;) So I slowly decorated that Mantel thinking that he wouldn't notice. I don't think he minds since he is so patriotic and love the 4th of July as much as I do. 

On my large sign on the left, I found that surface at Hobby Lobby with an orange clearance sticker. I can't even remember what design was on it, but I knew a coat or two of black chalk paint would make it into a great chalking surface. Once done painting it, I picked 2 retired transfers called Freedom and Homespun Stars.  

Retired Freedom Transfer

Retired Homespun Stars Transfer

This transfer fit just perfect of this surface! I actually only used the bottom half of the freedom transfer- It's so large that you can cut it into 2 parts. You could really cut it up a lot smaller, but i love the layout that it already has. I cut the Freedom transfer in 2 and laid the bottom half on the lower section of the surface. I stirred all the chalk pastes before starting. I picked Candy Apple, Blue Jay and Bright White for my paste colors. I kind of picked the paste color as I went down the transfer. After each line, I would lift that section and let it dry. The reason is that if you let the chalk dry in the transfer and then try to lift it up, it will lift up the chalk too and mess it all up. After completing the Freedom portion of the transfer, I randomly added the Homespun Stars at the top. My favorite start in the 3 toned star on the left side. 

I really wish these transfer weren't retired! I would have gotten another set!

Do you decorate your Mantel for any holidays? I'd love to hear all about them! Leave me a comment! 

Like these but not sure what Chalk Couture is- Click here to read all about it! 

Wanna shop for some Chalk Couture stuff? Click here to check out all the amazing items! 

And as always, help a sister out by sharing this post, like it and leave me a comment! 

Until then...

Sara ;)

4th of July Tiered tray- how I decorated it!

If you read my previous post, you know how much I love to decorate for 4th of July! I have a 3 tiered tray that I got from Hobby Lobby a while back and it sits on my counter in the Kitchen. I am currently looking for a hutch to put in the dining room, but I am stubborn and want it a certain style... like if vintage and farmhouse had a baby together. So until them, my 3 tiered tray will live on the counter. 

Anytime seeing any smaller 4th of July decorations, I snag them to add them to my 3 tiered tray. I am a Rae Dunn collector so I try to have holiday themed mugs be the centerpiece. I have only found one 4th of July Mug so far. I've been on the search anytime I go to Marshalls. 

Are you a Rae Dunn collector yourself? Or do you collect something completely different? I would love to know! Leave me a comment and tell me what you collect! 

Here is my 3 tiered trays decorated for the 4th of July. Let me know what you think! 

Remember- help a sister out by sharing this post, like it and leave me a comment! 

Until then...

Sara ;)

New Designer Kit for Fall 2020 is out!!

Chalk Couture has dropped a new Designer Kit and I'm kinda jealous of all these great items that I have to wait to order them until the 15th of July! But if you get your Designer Kit, you get them NOW! Shut the front door! So lucky!! 

And on top of that- If you join this month, you and your sponsor get a special chalk paste and transfer once you complete your Designer Debut! 

Check out this video to see the Designer Kit a little bit better in depth! 

Create Your Own FutureDesigners enjoy freedom, fun, and the potential to live their best life. You’ll get a meaningful, flexible income opportunity (and a cool way to work from home). It’s a great time to join the high-end DIY revolution!Enrolling is easy

1. Your Designer is Sara Barrington. 

2. Order your Starter Kit. Take a peek at all the goodies in our current Starter Kit

3. Grow with us your way! We welcome you to sell our fabulous products, hold workshops, or build a Team!

Benefits—Show me the money!Our Compensation Plan is the best in the business!

• Earn up to 40% on all inventory you sell at the retail price.
• Earn up to 25% on all Chalk Site website sales.
• Build and grow your Team to achieve your dream.
• Strive for product credit, bonuses, and incentives!

Still have questions? We have answers! Check out some of our most frequently asked questions below for everything you need to know about joining the hottest trend around!Here's what in the kit!

STARTER KIT – $99 USD/$129 CAD + TAXES/SHIPPING

-Designer Start-Up Guide Spring/Summer 2020 Catalog 
-Thank You Cards (12-Pack) 
-Chalk CoutureTM Apron                                                                                       -Small Squeegee                                                                                                        -7 Chalk TransferTM Designs (various sizes)       -Loveliest Smile (A)
     -Botanicals Collection—Live In The Moment(A)
     -Dive Into Sunshine Minis 

     -Beautifully, Rare Minis (B)

     -Apple of My Pie (B)
     -Business Builder—Ask Me How (B)
     -Business Builder—Join My Team (B)
     -Club CoutureTM Transfer of the month (B)   5 ChalkologyTM Pastes (3 US fl. oz.)
     -Bright White
     -Candy Apple
     -Colonial Blue (NEW)
     -Pesto
     -Shimmer Copper (YAY!!)-Couture GalleryTM Board Aiden White Frame (9" × 12")
-Couture BoutiqueTM Board & Base (5 1⁄2" × 7 1⁄2") (New Base Shade)
-Couture BoutiqueTM Chalkable Chips (Black, 12-Pack, 3", Round)                                        

Retail Value Of Approximately $250 USD.

Contents Subject To Change.

DESIGNER SUBSCRIPTION

Your monthly Designer Subscription is $19.99 USD/CAD (plus tax)

a month and includes a full suite of essential tools! You get a custom e-commerce Chalk Site and Chalk Shop mobile app to sell products. Plus, your Designer Office will help you manage inventory, place orders, and track personal and Team activity. And finally, you get an exclusive Club CoutureTM Transfer each month with free shipping. Your First month’s subscription is FREE!

Like these but not sure what Chalk Couture is- Click here to read all about it! 

Wanna shop for some Chalk Couture stuff? Click here to check out all the amazing items! 

And as always, help a sister out by sharing this post, like it and leave me a comment! 

Until then...

Sara ;)

July Club Couture - Let’s get Lost

How are we already in July?!? The 1st part of the year was slow as molasses and now we are half way through the year. And maybe we can’t do all the traveling we want but let's find a beautiful place to get lost. This charming, exclusive Transfer is July's Club Couture™ design - Let's Get Lost. Join Club Couture in July and add on this worldly Transfer while supplies last.

Here is the step by step on how to create this months Club Couture:

Supplies Needed

Club Couture Transfer: Let’s Get Lost

Chalkology Paste Singles: Sage, Storm, Morning Sky

Tools: Mini Squeegee (3), Transfer Trimmers, Placement Tape, Self-Healing Mat, Color Trays, and Fuzzing Cloth

Surface: Pallet Board (9" × 12")

Color and Placement for Club Couture

1. Globe: Sage and Morning Sky

2. Stand: Storm

Follow these instructions to complete the Club Couture project:

1. Prepare your Chalk Transfer by removing it from the packaging.

2. When you remove the backer from the Transfer screen, be sure to “fuzz” it to gentle the adhesive by sticking the adhesive screen to a Fuzzing Cloth or terry cloth towel to pick up a bit of lint before applying it to your board.

3. Position the Transfer and smooth to adhere to your surface, ensuring there are no bubbles.

4. Block off the “globe” portion of your design with Placement Tape.

5. Prepare your Chalkology Paste by kneading the packet, trimming off the corner, and squeezing the desired amount onto one of your Color Trays or another palette surface. Stir paste if using 3 US fl. oz. jar.

6. Use two Mini Squeegees to dab generous amounts of Sage and Morning Sky Chalkology Paste on random areas around the globe (see color and placement suggestions).

7. Use the squeegee to blend and smudge the edges of the two colors together as desired.

8. Scrape off excess paste and discard. The more excess paste you remove, the better the result.

9. Use the “chalk-and-pull” method to carefully pull back the top part of the Transfer (with wet paste) before it dries. Carefully lay the Transfer back down on your surface.

10. Remove the Placement Tape.

11. Smooth Storm Chalkology Paste over the stand element, avoiding the freshly chalked globe.

12. Slowly peel back the Transfer before the paste dries and immediately put it in water to clean thoroughly.

13. Once clean, let dry with the sticky side up.

14. Once all the Transfer elements are clean and dry, reapply all backers and store flat.

 

Want to see a video on how it’s done: Click Here!

Love your Club Couture membership, but want more to use them on? Get a Kickstart kit! 

This kit has everything you need to make starting your creative adventure easy. Grab it now, because it's available at this price only with your initial Club Couture subscription. Small Squeegee Multi-Tool Board Eraser (2-Pack) Chalkology Paste Bright White (3 oz.) Couture Gallery™ Board (9” x 12”) Couture Boutique Board & Base.

Like these but not sure what Chalk Couture is- Click here to read all about it! 

Wanna shop for some Chalk Couture stuff? Click here to check out all the amazing items! 

And as always, help a sister out by sharing this post, like it and leave me a comment! 

Until then...

Sara ;) 

DIY 4th of July Kitchen Towels

One of my favorite holidays is 4th of July! I love to decorate the outside of my house and the inside of my house. I'm always on the look out for great 4th of July decorations, especially at Hobby Lobby, Target and Marshalls. My collection of decoration is growing and i'm ok with that. 

One day while strolling through the dollar section at target, i'm sure with a Starbucks, I saw this set of 2 Kitchen towels. For $3, I couldn't pass it up! They were perfect for the 4th, and I had an idea to use Chalk Couture Ink to add a little extra to them. 

I'll show you how I made them! 

Supplies needed: 

-Kitchen Towels - I got mine in the dollar section- 2 towels for $3!

-Chalk Couture Ink - I used Cadet and Candy Apple 

-Chalk Couture Small Squeegee

-631 Vinyl

-Cutting Machine- I use a Silhouette Machine 

-Transfer tape - I use clear shelf protector for the dollar store! 

-Parchment paper

-Heat Press or Iron

Step 1: Get your towels ready- remove all tags and press them if needed if they are wrinkly. 

Step 2: Choose your designs that you want to add and cut them with your cutting machine. I chose Let Freedom Ring by Dawn Nicole Designs and Retro July 4th by Sophie Gallo. When getting ready to cut your design, you make have to tweak it a bit. With the design - Let Freedom Ring- I had to remove the outer cutting line from the design. I learned this by cutting it and trying to weed it, and figuring it out the hard way. 

Step 3: Reverse weed the design. Once all the weeding is complete, adhere transfer tape on the top on the design. Press it down firmly with your scraper. 

Step 4: Place the design on the towel where you would like it. Press it down firmly with the scraper over and over and over. Start to lift the transfer tape up from the top and carefully pull down, watching out for the small pieces. You may need to take the end of the scraper and hold down the small pieces to keep them from lifting. After you have completely lifted the transfer tape up, I like to place a piece of parchment paper over it and run the scraper over it again just to make sure they all adhere to the towel. Place wash tape around the edge of the design to make sure you don't get ink on the towel. 

Step 5: Time to INK! Grab your ink and open it up. Stir it well. Always stir! Dip your squeegee into the color and run over your design carefully. There is not mesh with this design so you can't be rough with it. 

Step 6: Once you have completely inked your design, remove the washi tape first and then the vinyl from the top and pulling it down. Now take a sharp weeding tool and remove the small pieces that are left behind. 

Step 7: Let it dry or use a dryer to dry it out if you want to use them ASAP. I always let them dry over night. But I did just buy a heat gun so maybe that will change ;) 

Step 8: Once dry, now you heat set them. That way you can wash them and the design won't come off. I use a Cricut Heat Press but you can use an iron if you don't have one. I set my heat press to 300 degrees and set a 30 second time. 

And just in 8 easy steps, you have DIY custom kitchen towels!

 

I paired my kitchen towels with some tea towels that I tye dyed! I love how they came out! 

What would you put on your kitchen towels?  Let me know!  

Like this but not sure what Chalk Couture is?!?- Click here to read all about it! 

Wanna shop for some Chalk Couture stuff? Click here to check out all the amazing items! 

And as always, help a sister out by sharing this post, like it and leave me a comment! 

Until then...

Sara ;) 

Need a beach tote? Make your own!

When I first got into Chalk Couture, I had all these ideas to make my own transfers to create more personalize items. I tried to make a few with mesh, and I even bought some screen print frames. It was not easy! Now I know why using Chalk Couture Transfers are so much easier to use. But with life, work, 3 kids, a husband and a dog... things get pushed back to the back burner.  

But this week I was on vacation, so I decided to try it again. I bought this tote bag at Hobby Lobby and thought it would a great beach bag. So naturally I had to put something mermaid on it. I reached through my Silhouette files and found the perfect one called Be like a Mermaid and Seas the Day by Megan Hardy Designs. It's the perfect size for the front part of the tote. 

Want to know how I made it? 

Step 1: Cut your design out with your cutting machine. I use Silhouette. I used some old 631 Vinyl that I had lying around.  Now this is where it gets tricky. You have to reverse weed the design. This means you have to weed out the lettering. Normally you leave the lettings and weed out the background area, but you want the ink to go on the letting area. 

Step 2: Once all the weeding is done, you are going to take transfer paper and carefully place on to of the whole design. Smooth it out and press firmly to make sure it all sticks to the transfer tape. Lift design off the backing and make sure all the small little pieces are coming along with it. Place the design on tote where you want it to go. If you are not sure on where you want the placement, figure this out before. Unlike a Chalk Couture transfer, I don't think you can really move this one around. Once it down, it would be hard to move. 

Step 3: This step is gonna take some time. Take your scraper and run it over the whole area on where you design is. make sure to press firmly, especially on the areas that have tiny pieces. These tend to want to get stuck on the transfer tape when you are lifting it. Once done with that, you are going to carefully like the transfer tape up off the design. This will take time... and patients... lots of patients! Start at the top and start to pull your up. Have the scraper in your hands because the small little pieces like come up with the transfer tape. Once the tape is off, take a sheet of parchment paper (I got mine off amazon and its precut and pops up out of the box) and place it over the design and again, use your scraper firmly to push down on the design. This is just to make sure you are adhering the design really well to the tote. 

Step 4: Place some tape on the side of the design to make sure none of the ink gets on the tote. Open your ink colors and stir them up. The inks I picked are Couture Teal, Couture Coral, and Shimmer Gold. 

Step 5: Time to INK! Set all your inks out so the are easy to reach. Once ready, dip your squeegee into the ink and start your 1st color. Since this doesn't have mesh to keep the vinyl from moving, you have to be careful when dragging your ink around on the design. The ink doesn't dry as fast as the chalk does, so you have more time to work with it. Carefully, but firmly drag the ink around making sure you completely cover the open areas of the design in ink. Any extra ink that you have left on your squeegee can go back into your ink jar. Now you can move onto the next ink color until you have completed all your ink colors. 

Step 6: Take off the tape that surrounds the outside of the design. Now you are going to start peeling up the design. This can be tricky since there is not mesh to hold it together and make it one seamless lift. It took a little time, but I did it slowly so it wasn't too hard. Once you are done lifting the made part of the vinyl, there will be small pieces left. I used a picker to get the other small pieces up without dragging it. Since this is just vinyl, you can throw away the pieces you lift up. 

Step 7: Check out what you just made and be proud of it! And let it dry. I normally let it dry over night. Once dry, place your parchment paper back over it and use your heat press (or iron) to heat set it. With the heat press, I set it to 300 degrees and set the timer for 30 seconds. Since the was a longer piece, I had to do it in 2 sections. 

Step 8: Boom! Your done! Now I have a large beach tote to haul all the shit my family needs at the beach. 

Let me know what you think! What would you put on your beach tote?  

Like this but not sure what Chalk Couture is?!?- Click here to read all about it! 

Wanna shop for some Chalk Couture stuff? Click here to check out all the amazing items! 

And as always, help a sister out by sharing this post, like it and leave me a comment! 

Until then...

Sara ;)