I don’t know where March has gone….I thought it was going to be a nice quiet month; not so – it’s been a frantic month for me. Yesterday was another of those March days – I attended a funeral for a friend’s father, an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for my nephew and an auction. I don’t know how I’m going to tie Eagle Scouts into today’s topic of fancy blackboards, but I’m going to try. I am so proud of my nephew, Chase Robinett, for attaining his Eagle Scout badge. I don’t know a lot about the boy scouts besides the fact that they are always prepared and know how to light fires. I really liked hearing the Boy Scout Law. I’m thinking everyone should live like a boy scout. Here it is:
The Boy Scout Law
Scout is Trustworthy. A Scout tells the truth. He is honest, and he keeps his promises. People can depend on him.
A Scout is Loyal. A Scout is true to his family, friends, Scout leaders, school, and nation.
A Scout is Helpful. A Scout cares about other people. He willingly volunteers to help others without expecting payment or reward.
A Scout is Friendly. A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He offers his friendship to people of all races and nations, and respects them even if their beliefs and customs are different from his own.
A Scout is Courteous. A Scout is polite to everyone regardless of age or position. He knows that using good manners makes it easier for people to get along.
A Scout is Kind. A Scout knows there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. Without good reason, he does not harm or kill any living thing.
A Scout is Obedient. A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobeying them.
A Scout is Cheerful. A Scout looks for the bright side of life. He cheerfully does tasks that come his way. He tries to make others happy.
A Scout is Thrifty. A Scout works to pay his own way and to help others. He saves for the future. He protects and conserves natural resources. He carefully uses time and property.
A Scout is Brave. A Scout can face danger although he is afraid. He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at him or threaten him.
A Scout is Clean. A Scout keeps his body and mind fit and clean. He chooses the company of those who live by high standards. He helps keep his home and community clean.
A Scout is Reverent. A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others.
I know I need to work on the “A Scout is Clean” law, besides a few of the others. To bad there isn’t “A Scout is Crafty” law, because I would certainly win it this month.
For the past month I have been frantically making “fancy” blackboards to donate to the various auctions I’ve attended. Yesterday marked the third and last auction I attended in as many weeks. Thanks heavens, I’m done!I drew up a pattern using autocad, printed them out & gave them to my friend Hank the carpenter to cut out the boards for me. He also sanded the edges, bless his heart. The big ones are about 5′-0″ wide and 4′-0″ high and the small ones 2′-0″ x 3′-0″. No, the boy scouts would not find these sizes the most thrifty use of plywood, but I wanted them big ! I then painted and glittered them. Voila! Pretty cute I think.
The patterns are full scale, so I had to divide the bigs ones on to 2 sheets of 48″x36″ paper. I just sent the pdfs to the blue printer (anyone that does large scale printing will work) for printing. Here are the patterns (in pdf):
- The 5’x 3′-6″ simple fancy rectangle blackboard: blackboard1 blackboard2
- The 5’x4′ curvy fancy blackboard: 2blackboard1 2 blackboard2
- The 2’x3′ small curvy fancy blackboard: 3blackboard
Materials:
- 1/2″ 4’x8′ sandply hardwood plywood (Sanded plywood , birch veneer, Smoother than regular b/c plywood)
- black blackboard paint
- elmer’s glue
- 3″ foam brush for large blackboard border (2″ for smaller blackboard)
- glitter ( I ordered from kit kraft because they had a lot of colors and the prices seemed good, the large boards used about 4 oz.)
What I did:
After Hank cut and sanded the boards, I painted them with 2 coats of black blackboard paint.
After they had dried the recommended period of time, I would work my way around the board , a section at a time, applying glue to the edges and then brushing on a layer of glue around the edge following the outline of the board and then glittering. I could do one full short side at a time or one half of a long side.
This is how I applied the glitter: I would do the outside 1/2 edge first and then the 3″ border. The outside edge was the hardest. There’s probably an easier way…but I would put a bunch of glitter on a folded paper and press to the edge. The 3″ border was easily done with just sprinkling.
Continue around board until it is all glittered. Let dry & then use (condition the board per the paint recommendations)
