My New Chalkboard

I cannot wait to share my most recent project with you - my new chalkboard!  I am a very bad blogger and didn't take pictures along the way, I apologize.  But I'll fill you in on the nitty gritty details.  I knew I wanted to "recycle" a frame I had from our old place.  The frame was gorgeous but the print that was previously in the frame wasn't really our style.  So, I removed the art from the frame, used some glossy spray paint and gave that sucker a good coating of nice, crisp white.  

With some chalkboard paint in hand, I decided to paint directly onto the glass from the old frame (mistake #1) with a brush (mistake #2).  In my defense, my google search on chalkboard painting directed me to use a brush.  Don't listen to google... at least when it comes to using chalkboard paint.    After applying 4 coats and allowing it to dry for 48 hours, it was time to condition the chalkboard.  You do this by rubbing a piece of chalk on its side over the entire surface. This is when I realized the gravity of mistake #2, it made the most horrible nails-on chalk-board sound.  Still, I continued on.  Now it was time to put the glass back in the frame.  Weirdly enough, it didn't fit.  It was as if the wood had contracted.  I applied just a wee bit of pressure and........ crackkkkk.  Yep, the piece of glass snapped into a million pieces. I. was. pissed.

After I cooled off, I thought up Plan B.  I would paint directly on the wall and use the the existing frame to highlight the area.  Genius!  So, I measured out the area I wanted to paint then used some blue painter's tape to section off my chalkboard area.  Chalkboards need to be on a smooth surface so I did a lot of sanding.  Next was the fun part... I got my roll on.  I learned from my first attempt that a nice foam roller would probably work best.  

Three nice, even coats later, it was time to let the paint set before finally conditioning it.  After I was sure it was completely dry, I peeled the painter's tape down to reveal a rectangular black chalkboard.  But I wasn't done yet.  Next, I used some long finishing nails to make sure the frame was perfectly flush against the wall.  Finally, I made sure my creation was perfectly level... let's face it, I'm anal about that type of stuff.

Doesn't the glossy white frame look beautiful with the blueish/grayish color of our laundry room?  Swoon.  And one feature I didn't think of first was that the inside of the frame could act as a shelf for the chalk.

Doesn't my chalkboard look lovely in our laundry room?  I can't wait to doodle and scribble little love notes (Allan hearts poop, hehe).