I tried to map out my blogger friends, who has connected me to whom and so on. The chalkboard wasn't big enough.
So I’ve been working like a fiend on my upcoming book these past couple of weeks, partly because I have to finish it, and also because Wolf and Mimi took off for Norway giving me a load of time to do a lot of stuff. Gosh, I’ve missed them. They return today, thank goodness. Yay!
I realized while they were gone that omg, I don’t have a cover photo. Terrible. What on earth was I going to put on the cover? The cover, for the luvva pete?!?
And then it hit me: put a cookie in front of a chalkboard. Oh yeah.
But I don’t have a chalkboard, no one uses those things much anymore. What was I going to do?
One of my neighbors, this very awesome woman named Paula, was married to an art teacher. She happened to have a piece of masonite board that she didn’t want, so I ran over and picked it up. Score! I then ran to the hardware store and picked up the rest of my materials, which were:
- Chalkboard paint
- A paint roller
- A paint tray
- I had a screwdriver to open the paint can. And to protect my painting surface, I cut a bunch of paper shopping bags up and taped them together. Brilliant, eh?
Note: I later learned that I should have bought some all-purpose primer to create an extra smooth surface so that the paint would go on extra smooth. I didn’t. The chalkboard came out nicely but primer would have made it perfect. Oh well. Next time.
So, here’s how I made my chalkboard:
All you need: chalkboard paint, screwdriver, roller, paint tray, and something to protect your work area.
Dunk the roller into the paint, get it entirely wet. Get rid of excess by rolling it in the bumpy middle area.
Start in one corner of the board or one side of the surface you're using. Use even strokes in one direction.
While waiting for the layers to dry, replace the unused paint into the cannister. Clean the tray and roller with warm, soapy water.
The finished chalkboard. This was after the first layer had dried. It only takes about 30 minutes for it to be dry to the touch, but a few hours to be dry enough for the next layer.
I painted three layers on this board, sanding a bit in between layers. I sanded with a little 150-grit sandpaper, but I could have used something a little coarser.
And that’s it! I bought white chalk and colored chalk at my local crafts store. With a 40% off coupon, it was pretty cheap.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please drop them in the comments section.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Cleaning the tray and roller with warm soapy water. I don’t like that part.
Your chalkboard looks so good! Would you consider painting one of Mimi’s walls with chalkboard paint? I had a wall like that when I was a kid and it was SO MUCH FUN.
Oh, it’s impossible to not love chalkboard paint. I’ve seen … what’s a word LIKE riveting but a little more mysterious? That. I’ve seen that kind of art painted on to chalkboard paint.
It’s awfully cool to use it to make a genuine chalkboard. Chalk gives me the shivers.
Mari, you’re so crafty! love it! reading Linda’s comment made me smile since i remember her mentioning her childhood chalkboard wall in her LaSalonniere interview. what really warmed my heart was seeing both of our names on your chalkboard…so very blessed to have both of you in my life. can’t WAIT to see the book! i know it will be nothing sort of FABULOUS!
xoxo
Linda, But you have to clean the roller at least, in between layers. Otherwise it dries and makes the roller hard ‘n rubbery. Can’t really paint with something that’s hard ‘n rubbery. And whoa, what a great idea! I’d love to make one of mimi’s walls into a chalkboard. We’ll have to see what the landlord thinks about that idea…
Cris. This project was so much fun. I can’t wait to use the chalkboard myself and maybe get mimi into it.
And Marilyn, I now remember Linda’s mention of the chalkboard from her childhood. And OF COURSE your names are on the board. Of course! Wait ’til you see the cookies, though. Whacky stuff. xo, m
Talk about not knowing my domestic arts and crafts! I had no clue there was such a thing as chalkboard paint! This is cool, very, very cool.
Lisa, nice to see you here again! And yeah, that chalkboard paint is very cool. Kind of inspiring. I now want to cover a few more surfaces with it…and I should. I have about half a can left!
This is really cool! I couldn’t ever imagine making one’s own chalkboard and now I see how it’s done. You did a terrific job!!!
That is really cool to see all those names on the board.
Nunuk looks so handsome.