Chalkboard Art

I attempted my first chalk paint project this weekend and thankfully it was a success. I love all the chalkboard pins I've been spotting on Pinterest like this and this and I wanted to create my own art piece. Maybe eventually when I buy a house I will paint a feature wall in chalk paint and get even more creative but for now a picture frame will do just fine in my rental.

Here is my finished project:

Chalkboard Art

I decided to make my own chalk paint because I've been wanting to use it on other projects but you could use ready-made chalkboard paint from your local craft store if your project is small. I already had this frame but I repainted it red to pull in the red accessories in my kitchen. You will need a thin piece of mdf (medium density fiberboard) from your local hardware store to use as the base. Because my frame is large (3ft x 2ft) it already had mdf in it. If there is glass in your frame you'll want to remove it.

There are several different ways to create chalk paint, you can use unsanded grout, Plaster of Paris, or even Calcium carbonate. After a lot of Pinterest research I decided to use Plaster of Paris because it was the most cost effective. I used this tutorial and it turned out great. You have to wait a couple of hours after painting before you can write on it with chalk. Also before writing on it you will need to cover the entire board in a thin layer of chalk and then erase it in order to cure the board for the chalk to stick well.

Close up of the chalkboard writing

To draw inspiration for my quote and lettering I turned here, here and here. I decided to free-hand it and it worked pretty well with few erasures needed. I like that I can change the words to reflect different holidays and seasons and I think it brightens up my wall.

Crockpot Cream Cheese Enchiladas

Crockpot Cream Cheese Enchiladas

This was a pin I saw showing up over and over again.  I figured if you see something that much on pinterest you have to give it a try!  Here was the original pinned post. I switched things up a bit.  I decided to make the enchilada filling in the crockpot so I could set it and forget it.

Ingredients for Enchiladas

You’ll need:

2-3 chicken breasts

½ large onion chopped (Vidalia if available)

1 (8oz.) package cream cheese

1 28 oz. can green enchilada sauce

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

2 cups cooked rice (I used brown.)

Tortillas (I used whole wheat.)

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Step 1.

Step 1

Dump ½ can of enchilada sauce, onion, cream cheese & chicken into your crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours.  In the meantime, cook the rice and drain and rinse your black beans.

Step 2.

Step 2

Remove chicken and shred.  Add the rice and black beans.  Stir to combine.

Step 3.

Step 3

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour a little bit of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish.

Step 4.

Step 4

Spoon the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down into the casserole dish.

Step 4 continued

Step 5.

Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the rolled up enchiladas and top with cheese. Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake at 350° for 25 minutes.

Step 5

Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes and turn on the broiler to get that cheese bubbling. Serve with lettuce, sour cream, & tomatoes.  I served corn on the side.

Conclusions: 
This was good, but next time I will probably omit the rice and add sliced bell peppers to the chicken mixture for more flavor. I will also have more enchilada sauce for topping the enchiladas.