canon creative girl: Pink Paislee

This is a personal blog. All editorial content and projects are intellectual property of http://canoncreativegirl.blogspot.com/. I do receive financial compensation and material product from Pink Paislee to develop my craft posts, but all ideas and opinions are my own.

I have a tutorial up on the Pink Paislee blog today, that I can't wait to share with you!

Is it really time for Back To School already? The Summer went by so fast! My kids actually head back to school this week! This mason jar desk organizer will be perfect for getting organized this year. Using the Memorandum collection you can turn a couple of jars into a desk organizer!

Supplies for this mason jar desk organizer:

Serving Tray
Two mason jars (you need ones with at least one side that is smooth)
Acrylic paint in your choice of colors ( I used Martha Stewart Multi-Surface Satin Summer Haze)
Acrylic paint in your choice of colors (I used Martha Stewart Decor Paint in Matte Chalkboard Finish)
Painter's Tape or other tape (I used washi tape for mine)
Regular chalk
Paint brush

Start by painting the mason jars with your paint of choice. I used the black Martha Stewart Vintage Decor Paint in Matte Chalkboard Finish and and Martha Stewart Multi-Surface Satin Summer Haze acrylic paint. Please wait for the paint to fully dry before adding any additional coats. Then mask off a little over half of your jars for painting. Keep your line straight at the top for this step. To get the location of the line, be sure there will be plenty of chalk above your line when the jars are located in the tray. As you can see below, my jars have one smooth side with no writing. This is important for this project. I specifically chose jars that had a smooth side.

Once the tops of your jars have been painted, remove the tape. Allow the area to cure completely then add the tape so you can paint the bottom of the jar. Add two coats of chalkboard paint to the jars. Be sure you paint one vertical and one horizontal. Allow to dry in between coats as well. Remove the tape at the end of this step. Touch up the line in between colors if you need to.

Once everything is dry, be sure to let all of the products cure according to the package directions. You will need to condition all chalkboard surfaces by rubbing them with the side of a piece of chalk and then erasing. You can then write anything you wish with a chalk, a chalk marker or letter stickers. I started to write "pens" and "pencils with a chalk marker and then didn't like the way my writing looked, so I erased them and replaced them white letter stickers from the Memorandum collection. I love how crisp and clean the letter stickers make them look. Throw in some pens, pencils, markers, and more to help keep the kids organized or give as a gift to your favorite teacher.

I also made this small little easel for the desk area. Using the paper clips from the Memorandum collection I can clip on a cute little message for my kids!

Supplies for the Art Easel:

Chalkboard Easel Album ( I purchased mine at Michael's) 4.7 "x 7"
Pink Paislee Memorandum Snapshots Paper
Pink Paislee Memorandum Cubicle Paper
Pink Paislee Memorandum Office Supplies Kit
Pink Paislee Memorandum Stickers
Pink Paislee Memorandum Washi Tape
Pink Paislee Memorandum Photo Frames
Adhesive
Sewing Machine and White Thread

Trim a piece of Memorandum Snapshots paper measuring 4.7"" x 7" and adhere to front side of easel album. Run a white and gold polka dot frame (included in photo frames pack) through the sewing machine, and straight stitch with white thread. Leave ends long for distressed look. Adhere frame to the center of easel album. Fussy cut "Capture The Everyday" clipboard from Pink Paislee Memorandum Cubicle Paper, Adhere to center of easel album (just on top of frame) with a gold camera paper clip (include in the Office Supplies kit). Apply a "Hello" gold sticker from the sticker pack to a black label included in the Office Supplies kit), set aside. Tear a red polka dot with white strip (included in the Washi Tape kit) and adhere behind black "Hello" label. Adhere label, with washi to the easel just below "Capture The Everyday" clipboard. Enjoy! I hope this post inspires you to create your own back to school organization items!