Tuesday, December 21, 2010

my new obsession: chalkboard paint

Lately I've been painting quite a few things with chalkboard paint. It started in the kitchen, but I wanted to find ways to use up some of the leftovers, so I started to get a little creative. 


First I wanted to get rid of our unsightly white board on the fridge in the kitchen, but still wanted a spot to write notes without going through tons of paper. I love making lists.

I decided to paint a chalkboard on part of the wall. Technically it's the outside of our pantry. About a month ago I ordered the paint and some chalk ink markers and painted the wall.


Per the instructions on the bottle I painted one coat vertically, then an hour later painted a second coat horizontally. After that, I let it "cure" for 24 hours.

It turned out pretty great. I tried the "frog" tape again. It worked great on the top + bottom, but I have now vowed to never use it on an edge again. It just seeped under the tape and made a mess. It's way easier to just paint the edge free hand and clean any drips as I go.

The next day I had to "season" the chalkboard by rubbing the whole thing with the side of a piece of chalk. Afterwards, I tried out my chalk markers. I bought some lower priced ones on amazon (in the past I had success with the Chalk Ink brand) and was very disappointed.

The marker looked perfect, and works better than chalk because of the texture of my chalkboard, but sadly, it would NOT come off. Fortunately, Amazon let me return them since they didn't work as advertised. And I repainted my chalkboard this past weekend.

{messy lines, "seasoning", chalk ink fail, repainted board}

So, a month later I have a lovely chalkboard in my kitchen. Now I'm hoping to save my pennies for some better chalk markers, but for now I'm using standard chalk. 

{lists}


Afterward I had leftover paint in the tray. I have a really hard time wasting just about anything, so I looked for some things I could spruce up. I painted a magnet on the fridge, some gifts I have yet to give (I'll post on these after Christmas), and tags for presents. 

{brown gift paper + chalkboard paint}

{"short rounds" for our friends}


Anyone have other ideas for chalkboard paint?


8 comments:

  1. This is really neat!! One day your little guy is gonna want to draw on that too :)

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  2. Kristin, that's why I put it up high, so he can't! haha. When he understands the difference between drawing on a chalkboard wall, and just drawing on the wall, I want to put one in his room :)

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  3. Let me know when you do buy nicer chalk markers. I love this idea but don't want to use regular chalk. I don't know, don't ask. But like the idea of a marker. I'm curious what brand is the good stuff!

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  4. Tia "Chalk Ink" is the brand. I think they sell them at the U of O bookstore, and I know they have them on Amazon. They're a bit spendy, but they work!

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  5. Have you ever used the chalk ink yet? I have some chalk ink that didn't remove from a chalkboard- i thought it would be just my process so I am trying a different method..... wondering about any one elses experience.

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  6. CAP + Tonya- I tried to contact you through your blog but couldn't find a way to comment or email you directly. Hopefully you check back here!
    I've used chalk ink and it didn't come off, BUT I've since learned that you must "season" the board by rubbing it down with regular chalk and erasing it, but not cleaning it with water, before using the chalk ink. Hope that helps!

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  7. Thanks- my blog is still under construction- sorry about that!!!!!!! I will definitely try that- I have just finished spraying a board and also painting one again so will try that method for sure next!!! Did it come off when you did this method?!

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thanks for responding, I love your feedback!

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