Nailed It DIY First Day of School Board - Using Family-Safe Paints and Stains *Plus Coupon Code!*

Shannon Evans and Misty Grant, owners of Nailed It in Fort Mill, SC invited my sister and I to craft and check out ECOS’s line of chemical-free, organic paints and stains they’ve brought on board for all of their DIY projects. I spend a lot of time educating myself on eco-friendly and chemical-free options to use in my home, so I was very interested to learn more about the products and her exciting DIY business. 

Check out those hues! Aren’t the colors so rich and gorgeous? 

As mothers themselves, Shannon and Misty wanted all the projects created at Nailed It to be adorable AND safe for their family and yours. ECOS brand paints and stains are locally-sourced from Fairforest, SC. They’re 100% organic, non-toxic, solvent-free, VOC-free and safe for your family. Shannon joked that you could drink them they’re so safe - we didn’t try that - but I was impressed with Nailed It’s commitment to offering their clients the most family and environmentally-friendly DIY option in the area without compromising the beauty of the paint. 

The timing was perfect for this DIY project at Nailed It. Aisles are overflowing with binders and book bags, and if you’re like me, you’ve pinned something similar to this adorable back-to-school board on your to-do-list before the big day hits.

I enjoy DIYing, but I’m no stranger to the #PinterestFail. I’ve never worked with paint and stains on a project like this, so I was nervous about how my board would turn out. I didn’t think I could create a board that would receive #PinWorthy status, or one that I'd be willing to debut in all of the back to school photos!

Nailed It is a super cute venue, it's inside of Birds of a Feather in Fort Mill, just south of Charlotte, NC and right off 77 at exit 85 (across from Baxter). It's about a 25 minute drive from Uptown Charlotte and even closer to South Charlotte. 

Shannon guided us step-by-step through the process. She is a talented teacher who dropped  some creative know-how on my DIY-curious self. She gave guidance on applying the paint, sanding and working with the stain and on how to create a rustic look. 

With her help it was fun, easy and we got to connect with the other ladies in the class while we shared laughs and wine. If you haven't had a chance to work with Shannon - she has an amazing energy and contagious laugh. She made us feel immediately at ease and empowered by her DIY can-do. We also realized we're both SUNY Oswego alumni and even attended during the same years - it's a small world! 

I was amazed by how easy the paints and stains were to work with. They had great coverage, zero toxic smell and a little went a long way. Check how Larisa and I rocked the rustic look!

Shannon's instruction added to my confidence and my board ended up being 100% #PinWorthy! When I talk to other moms who aren't DIY confident I always hear - "I'd love to, I always thought it sounded so fun, but I'm afraid mine would turn out just awful." From one #PinterestFailQueen to another, take my advice and try this class. Each woman in the class came from a different age, background and skill level but created a unique and beautiful piece. 

I wasn’t the only one that was impressed with my new DIY skills, my 7 year old made me show her the Nailed It stamp on the back of the board to prove I hadn’t bought it! Yup. I totally Nailed It. 

My sister and I had so much fun with this project - plus it's a keepsake we can use year after year to help mark the Milestones and Memories of the first days of school. We’re planning on returning to make holiday advent calendars we can have for our family to celebrate the holidays! 

Nailed It is offering my favorite readers (yes that’s you!) a $5 discount for any class you sign up to take at Nailed It between now and the end of 2016 using the code MOMABOUTCLT in the promo area when you book. 

You can check out Nailed It on their website here, follow them on Facebook here and obsess over their must-have DIY creations on Instagram here. Nailed It is a great venue for birthday parties, wedding and baby showers, bachelorette parties, girls night out, family gatherings and neighborhood get togethers and fundraisers. Plus they have paint, wood and will travel - they'll even come to your event and set up shop - that's DIY on the go! Check out their website for more info.

I was provided this class free of charge allowing me to blog about my experiences, but as always all of my opinions are my own and my promise to my readers is that I won’t share anything I don't love and recommend. A huge thank you to Larisa Black with Photography By Larisa for providing all of the photos in this blog. 

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Parent/Child Painting Night at Olive's Mud Puddle

Our kids are very well loved emotionally, but also spoiled with material items. Every Christmas, birthday and just because our home seems to adds about 10 square feet of new toys. Our playroom runneth over, and I end up having to picketh it all up...

So, for S's 7th birthday I tried to focus on getting her gifts that were experiences to create memories instead of things that would pile up on our floor. She's a fan of crafts and so I thought a painting class would be a fun activity to try together. 

We talked with Debbie at Olive's Mud Puddle in Fort Mill, she created an adorable holiday interactive painting to create for our Mother-Daughter night out. S really enjoyed the experience, so much so that she said, "This is the MOST FUN night I've had for a girls night out - like ever!"

 I really enjoyed myself too. Debbie took us step through step and I was impressed how S was able to focus her energy and go slowly as the painting developed. We used teamwork to build our "masterpiece" I created the outlines of the larger items and she colored them in. She chose the colors for each of the birds and ornaments and even decided to explore her artistic license and added eyelashes to our reindeer. 

It was a positive experience and all the girls and moms who attended seemed to enjoy the experience as well. In addition to painting Olive's offers family clay/pottery classes.

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Awaken Your Inner Picasso at Pinot's Pallete

I've always thought of myself as tragically left-brained. I've never excelled at arts or music. Sure I'm copy cat crafty and can draw a mean stick figure, but those abilities are the most I can conjure from the wall flower that is the right side of my brain. When I was contacted by Pinot's Pallete in Southend to check out their upscale 'Paint. Drink. Have Fun.' painting class I was initially concerned about sharing my 'artwork' on my blog and how inevitably awful it would look. They reassured me that all their classes are no experience necessary, guided step by step, lots of fun, and that I may be pleasantly surprised by the outcome of my painting.

My sister and I headed to Pinot's Pallete for a much needed kid-free girl's night out. The atmosphere was perfect for our evening - they have a large selection of beer and wine to choose from (BYOB is not permitted) and snacks for purchase. It was clean, trendy and energized as they played art evoking music. Our names were scribed at each station with our canvas, paint brushes and paint. They were doing a themed night, perfect pairing with the movie "What If" and offered complimentary popcorn and fun-sized candy bars as we prepared to paint the romantic scene "City Love". 

The instructor made the painting process easy to follow and laid back. When I looked around the room everyone's artwork looked surprisingly good - even mine was recognizable! My sister and I laughed, drank, painted and enjoyed allowing our creative juices to flow. I was amazed at how easy it was to create a painting that closely resembled City Love. While I'm not quitting my day job for a career as an artist any time soon, we already have plans in the works to return for another evening of creativity with Pinot's Pallete.

Pinot's Pallete isn't just for GNO's, it's perfect for date nights, birthday parties, bachelorette parties and they host corporate team building events. Classes cost around $30 per painter and you can select your favorite painting by checking out their schedule here. You can keep up to date with upcoming promotions, discounts and events (some even for kids) by following Pinot's Pallete on Facebook, on Twitter or Instagram.

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