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).
