Thursday, December 29, 2011

Custom Built-In ChalkBoard!

I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or whatever else you celebrate! :) We enjoyed our First Christmas as a married couple and decorated our First Tree!

Moose was waiting for Santa every night! Couldn't wait for some more Tennis Balls and Squeaker Toys!

The Sunday before Christmas I was itching to get back to some of my crafts and DIY projects so I asked my Husband to stop at Home Depot on his way home from his Parents house to get some supplies to finally convert this annoyingly un-useful custom built-in cork board to a FUN and useful Chalkboard!  It had a lot of potential because of the amazing large frame that surrounded the area, but the cork board just didn't make any sense to us...

Here is our before Picture after pulling off the cork that was coming loose:

Supplies that are needed:
Painters Tape
Magnetic Primer (Not necessarily needed, but useful to clear the most cute clutter I've ever seen from my fridge that is taking over because I refuse to take down the adorable baby pictures and announcements my family and best friends send me!)
Chalkboard Paint
Foam Roller and plastic paint tray (they are not pictured below because we ended up switching half way through when we noticed that the paint brushes, below, were a pain in the butt to make the paint even!)
Chalk

We used Spackle to fill in the small holes where the screws are that hold this custom built frame on the wall! (Might not be needed if you are using a regular frame or wall in your house)

Use Painters Tape to line the area where you want to paint.  You could use this to make a square on your bare wall and get a backless frame to hang over the area!  We primed the wall with a magnetic primer (3 coats, with 1 hour drying time in between the coats).

Magnets really work! Though the magnetic strength is lower than the refrigerator...

The next day we started our 3 coats of Chalkboard paint with 24 hours drying time in between each coat!

After it is completely dry, you must prime the chalk board with the side of a piece of chalk.   Take the side of a piece of chalk and rub it on the entire board.  This will make the board able to erase without leaving marks.  If you clean the board with water repeat the chalk priming method to ensure it erases evenly again!

I want to make a cute calendar up top and use the bottom for a message board, but that will have to wait until after hosting our first Party for the New Year!  Hope everyone has a SAFE and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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