Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Blackboard Love

True Confessions: I've had a love affair with black board paint since it first came out. I finally got around to doing something wonderful with it!

*1*
First up, a rejected country calendar holder that was languishing at the thrift shop. Score for $1.99

I took it home and lightly sanded it.


 Then Flower and I got to work painting. I had a couple of sample colors (I think they were 2 oz samples) that I'd purchased when I was trying to pick the perfect shade for my powder room. We put 2 coats on both the frame and the middle area, where the chalkboard will be.


 Once it was thoroughly dry, I roughed it up a bit. I love the look but Flower was aghast. "What happened here?" she demanded. "I antiqued it" came my calm reply. "Why" she lamented. "Oh look, we still have some purple, we can fill in all of the ugly patches."... I prevailed but she is still maintaining that she "hates the antiquey look."

Details.
Then I masked off the frame and filled in the middle with blackboard paint.


Dont ya love my bright blue tack? That will get fixed once it goes to its permanent spot.

 Voila!
I LOVE it.

*2*
 Next up I had a beautiful large picture frame that my friend with killer taste gave us after the fire.
Feeche cut the board of plywood (a remnant peice that was not smooth but not warped) to fit and then I started caulking. The caulking turned into a major commitment and I ended up covering the whole thing, sanding, caulking again, sanding lightly.

Because I knew I'd be using the brushes again, with a wait in between, I just wrapped them in saran wrap and kept them somewhere cool for the day.


When the caulking was completly dry I covered the board with blackboard paint.
Let dry completely.
In the frame. I need to change the wire on the back of the frame which is why I didn't completely frame it or take the plastic off. . The size is 3' x 2' and I'm going to put it on the wall next to the refrigerator.

Detail of the frame, with the plastic off. Isn't it beautiful?!

Nothing written on either board yet because the paint is supposed to "cure" for 3 days and I was excited to get show off our new writing surfaces.

13 comments:

Stacy Uncorked said...

I've been dying to do a project like that - even bought the blackboard paint, but haven't found the 'perfect' frame to use...yet! ;) LOVE how yours both turned out! :)

WW: Creative Play

servingHimblind said...

Where's the pictures of your red hair?!

Karen said...

Chalkboard paint is fantastic! Dd16 wants to cover an entire wall of her room with it.

Mary said...

I am fascinated by blackboard paint and even have a can, but I have no idea what to do with it. I need to go to some garage sales and find something for a project!

Cellista said...

What a great project! I love Flower's comment however, What happened here?! I like the antiqued look, but I love that frame even more.

Jamie said...

Wow! It turned out great.

Jamie said...

Wow! It turned out great.

Robin Johnson said...

At our last house, we had two walls in our school room painted with chalkboard paint. It was too much fun. Haven't found a place in our new house to use it yet. More windows and fewere walls.

Angela Mills said...

Love this! I am dying to try chalkboard paint!

Anonymous said...

love how it turned out!! I love chalkboard paint. :)

Jennifer said...

Maybe a stupid question, but why did you need to caulk the plywood? I have a cool, big frame that I would like to put a chalkboard in, but I am wondering what kind of wood/surface would be ideal to use the chalkboard paint on.

laughinglioness.lisa@gmail.com said...

I.have.no.space.bar;).icaulked.the.board.because.it.was.so.rough.I.used.a.reclaimed.piece.of.plywood.If.it.had.been.new.i.probably.wouldn't.have.needed.to.but.I.wanted.a.smooth.surface.to.chalk.on...I.could.have.also.gesso'd.the.board.

TerriG said...

I have been thinking about trying the paint right on my walls. Or even try the magnetic paint. So many options. I confess, I used to be obsessed with white boards. We own them in all sizes.