the tree finds a home.....and what happens when you let a crazy lady have a piece of chalk

First off I wanted to thank Jennifer (another Jennifer, not myself--that would just be weird!) for passing this cute award on to me just for being a Jennifer! How sweet! I am going to pass it on to Elena, Lee Ann, and Emily for being my most frequent commenters. Thanks gals! (Yes, I know that this is like the cyber version of a chain letter, but I am not going to promise you 30 recipes, 25 children's books, $500 dollars, or a lifetime of good health--just a cute little she-male angel with a heart :) !).

Now, does anyone remember my tree picture? You all advised me to keep the dots, and of course--I caved to the peer pressure, or wisely took your advice--however you want to look at it!--and since then the tree picture has been leaning against the wall in my hallway. Here's your math lesson for today: Giant glass picture + four boys who often ignore the 'no running in the house' rule + assorted balls rolling willy-nilly about the house=just about had a pile of glass! So, my sweet husband (you've heard about him--he's always saving the day around here!) helped me get it hung up in our bedroom Saturday night.

Here it is:

I like it in here. It matches these tree pictures that I took:

But it's hanging in its big black frame next to my big black armoire, and with my big black bed, and my kind of big black dressers/nightstands---it was just too much black. I've been wanting to paint my armoire for a long time now. I've already painted our other two, and it's kind of a pain---so I've been blissfully putting it off for a year. But something about the tree picture going up made me want to have that armoire a different color NOW!

Here's a design tip for you (and, again--I'll give it to you for free!) : if you want to make a chalkboard surface out of a wall, a door, a piece of plywood, or whatever; but you don't want it to be the standard black or green that chalkboard paint comes in-- then you can use any matte paint. (Did you know that already?) After you paint said surface and let it dry, condition it by rubbing the entire surface with chalk and erasing several times--this keeps whatever the first things you might write on it from leaving a permanent mark-- and you got yourself a chalkboard in any color you can imagine!

Knowing that, I started to think: "hey self! Your too black armoire is painted with.......matte paint!" So I had a little fun with it--

I think it looks like it got a flame tattoo all over it! It's still too black, but the white breaks it up a bit. I'm sure it will look like this for another day or so until my little ones discover they can rub it off! This was actually how I envisioned painting it, but with cream paint instead of chalk. Now that I know I can do this to it, I might sketch out a few of my other ideas before making up my mind.

So if you have a spare hour and want to have a little fun----go attack a piece of your furniture with chalk. Just make sure your kids don't see you. Haven't you always told them NOT to do that?!

p.s.: here's my hubby saving the day yet again! Isn't he cute :)?!