Chevron Painted Kitchen Mat

This project has been on my to-do list for a long time! I spotted this Ziggy Mat in the June/July issue of HGTV Magazine but I couldn't dish out $40 on a kitchen mat. I decided to take the not-so-cute foam kitchen mat that I already had and paint it to look like the Ziggy.

I planned for this project to be one of my first in my 31 Days Project and then tried to hurry and finish in time for the latest Pinterest Challenge- which neither happened in time. Now, it has sat finished for a couple of weeks before I got around to blogging about it!

To start, I took the kitchen mat we already had and added a layer of primer.

By looking at my inspiration and guestimating how wide each stripe was, I marked each line and then taped off every other one.

 

I then marked off each of the diagonal lines every three inches or so.

I used craft acrylic paints from Hobby Lobby in many colors. I started to match the colors to that of the original mat but ended up choosing some that I liked more.

The tape kept my vertical lines crisp and straight, but to avoid the time of taping off every other diagonal section, I free-handed those edges.

 

After peeling up the tape, I connected the diagonal lines to create the chevron pattern.

I taped off the edges again and then started painting the second set of stripes. I had a few touch ups to make at the end but overall the Frog Tape worked well! To finish, I added a couple of thin coats of wipe-on poly. This just protects the craft paint from any spill or dirt that may get on the mat. I have had a few spills and drips to clean up and I am happy to report they wiped off easily with a damp paper towel!

This mat adds a great pop of color to my otherwise tan kitchen! I absolutely love it!! It took quite a bit of time but I'm so glad I did it! Using the mat and paints I already had at home, I would say this mat is a steal of a deal compared to the $40 competitor!!

{Date Night} October

Continuing on through our date basket, David and I went on our October date a couple of weeks ago.  Our city's parks department hosts Movies in the Park and plays favorite movies each Thursday night in April and October. This year we decided to go to the annual Halloween showing of our hometown thriller- The Town That Dreaded Sundown.

In the envelope I included the info sheet describing the date and some of our favorite candies to snack on.

The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a movie loosely based on a true story about unsolved murder mystery cases in the Texarkana area- including Spring Lake Park- back in 1946. The "Phantom Killer" murdered five people over the course of a couple of months and had the town of Texarkana in fear of who would be lurking around outside after the sun went down. The Phantom Killer was never identified and could still be out there today!! buhahaha.....

It was my first time to see the movie. I was a little scared-y cat and thought the idea of watching this movie in the same park where some of the murders occurred was just a little too much for me! But it wasn't as scary as I first thought. 

sorry for the grainy iphone photo!

The annual showing is a big event and there was a great turnout this year. We sat out our lawn chairs, bundled up and enjoyed the movie.

To anyone thinking of creating a Date Basket- David and I have really enjoyed our dates! We are kind of sad that we only have two more left but hope that we can keep the dates up even after we move to Africa!! Has anyone come up with any fun dates of your own? I would love to hear!!

Home is Wherever I'm With You & BIG MOVE REVEAL

When David and I first found out about our big move I was excited, scared, worried, anxious, nervous and all other sorts of feelings- just depended on what day you asked! David, on the other hand, has been ready to go since day one! At one point, I was doing all I could to convince him to stay here- in our comfortable little bubble of life. I have traveled abroad before (and LOVED it) but the idea of making a big move there was a little frightful.

We have known about our big move since Summer of 2011. Since then, I have had time to work out all of my fears. This summer was a turning point for me and I became excited to start this new adventure (I was going whether I liked it or not so I figured I better get excited- jk).

For our anniversary this year, I made my own version of a "Home is Wherever I'm With You". I know these are all over in all sorts of forms but it really hit home for me.

I finally came to know at that time that everything was going to be ok. There was no need to worry about a thing when it came to our big move.  I know that wherever I am, as long as David is there, he will take care of me and it will feel like home! 

 

So where are we moving? Cape Town, South Africa!! 

Technically, we may be living in Stellenbosch which is a small, wine country town outside the big city of Cape Town. David will be starting a Ph.D. program at the university there and I will hopefully begin my interior design career with an internship with a local designer! 

We can't wait to get started on our new adventure! Our tickets are booked and we fly out in two short months! Got to get to packing!

What I Learned from 31 Days

Well.. as you can see, October has come and gone and my 31 days series kind of stopped somewhere in the middle. Whomp Whomp!


I learned a few things in the process-

1st:  Blogging on an every day basis (or just routinely) takes some prep work. I stayed on top of it for a while but once I started slacking it was hard to catch up.

2nd:  Was I crazy to think that I could plan/do/write about 31 different DIY projects in 31 days? I mean, none of them were just huge, time consuming projects, but that's a lot of work.

3rd (and most importantly):  Sometimes blogging and projects have to take a back seat to more important things in life. October was a hard month for David and I. I truly appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers for our family these last few weeks. David's grandmother put all of your prayers to work and fought hard. She went to be with the Lord this morning and is no longer in pain and for that we are grateful.



Thank you again for your continued thoughts and prayers. I still hope to complete some of the projects from this past month. Have a great Monday and I will check back in soon!!