Talkin' Chalk

Chalkboards, that is.  I am sort of obsessed with chalkboards and chalkboard paint.  I wanted to share some of the chalkboards I have made recently.  They are sooooo easy! You should make one, too! Or, you could become like me and be so obsessed that you make 10 and then have no place for them!  On second thought, don't be like me.

Many moons ago, I was bored on a Saturday and decided I wanted to get out and go to some garage sales.  I was very unfamiliar with the area and I ended up getting lost.  I made some turns, and then some more turns, and then a few more turns and I stumbled upon a neighborhood wide garage sale. I have seldom before or since had such a successful garage sale day.  It was epic.  It was magical.  I get a little misty-eyed when I think about it.  I only made a few stops before I had a full car and an empty wallet.  I refer to it as the Bermuda Triangle of garage sale neighborhoods because I found it by accident and I haven't been able to find it since! When I left the last sale, I turned a corner and it's like it vanished from the face of the earth, never to be seen again.  Sort of like the lost city of Atlantis, if Atlantis was a cool bohemian neighborhood full of hippies and TCU students.

It was at one of these garage sales that I bought a big wooden tray.  I had been hankerin' to make a chalkboard for some time and when I saw this little beauty out of the corner of my eye I knew,  KNEW,  I had to have it.  It was my last stop of the day and I literally had 3 dollars.  This is when going to garage sales late comes in handy.  The late hour, combined with the Texas heat were wearing on the sweet people hosting the sale and they let me purchase the tray and a mirror for much much less than they had them priced.  God bless them.  OK- so here is a pic of the tray before and after:

Before



After
Used as a sign at the baby shower I co-hosted for my sister-in-law.

The second chalkboard I made from a piece of sheet metal that I got from a different yard sale for 1 dollar.  It already had holes for hanging! Sorry but I don't have a before picture. With both the wooden tray and the metal, I spray painted the surface with Krylon paint in Watermelon Gloss.  With the metal, I used a primer prior to the first coat of spray paint.  I wish I could say that I taped off the part that was going to be my chalkboard surface to ensure a perfect paint job, but I did not.  I just bought some chalkboard paint from Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon (Woohoo!) and followed the directions.  When I got to the edges I just painted reeeeeaaaaallllyyy carefully.  

Made from sheet metal.

The last chalkboard project that I made recently involved two heavy-duty metal trays that I bought at a.... well, you know where I bought them.  They were $1.50 each.  I primed them with primer, which is a very important step when spray painting on metal.  It helps the paint adhere and not scratch off so easily.  You can get a spray paint primer at Wally World or Lowe's. I used Rustoleum Flat Primer.  After priming, I spray painted them with Krylon paint in Cherry Gloss.  I then used my chalkboard craft paint and painted the inside of the tray.  I gave one to my sister-in-law for Christmas(she asked for one specifically, I wasn't being cheap I promise) and I kept one.  I like these because of their size, which allow them to be placed almost anywhere and their cheery color!

 

Thanks for stopping by! Next week I plan on posting about some easy peasy fabric rosettes.  Stay crafty, my friends!