DIY Chalkboard

 

   I haven't made any craft posts recently. It's not because I haven't been crafting....I have...a lot. I've been feverishly working on tons of projects for Ethan's 1st Birthday party next month and I don't want to unveil anything until after the party. I have 7-10 projects I'm working on right now! I'm very excited about Ethan's party and I can't wait to show everyone all of the wonderful things I've been making. But since that is still an entire month away, I scrounged up something to post today.
   A couple of weeks ago, my friend Meghan and I went to the flea mall to find props for Ethan's first birthday photo shoot. I came across this old fireplace screen and thought it would make the perfect chalkboard. Its a great size and I love that it stands up on its own. And, best of all, when Ethan gets a little older it will be perfect for him to doodle on.


   Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of my fireplace screen before I painted it. :/ But, it was just solid, bare wood. Nothing special to look at. I spray painted it my favorite antique white. It took about 3 coats. Next I started to tape off the edges so I could paint the center. (This is when I realized I hadn't taken any pictures.)

 
   After taping  the edges, I took it outside and painted the center with the chalkboard paint. I used Rustoleum chalkboard paint. I've had better luck with the roll-on kind, but I've used the spray kind too.  Next time, I think I'll try to make my own!
   MAKE SURE TO READ THE DIRECTIONS! This is a drawn out process because you have to wait a few hours in between coats and then 3 days before writing on it.

   After my chalkboard was completely dry, I removed the tape and lightly sanded the edges so it would look distressed. I love the look of distressed furniture and it is really nice on projects like this because the wood is already imperfect.

   This is the finished project. I hate that my pictures are so bad, but my phone was the best I had to work with at the time. I'm really excited to draw a HUGE #1 on it and have Ethan next to it in his pictures! One year photo shoot post coming soon!!