Sunday, January 9, 2011

Round Chalkboard Project

I've been quite envious of all the chalkboards I've seen around the blogosphere. I felt like I was the only person that didn't have one. So I decided to try my hand at DIY-ing one to hang above our bed, since I'm in the process of redecorating our bedroom.

My first idea was to get a piece of wood cut to fit inside of a thrifted frame, paint the wood with chalkboard paint and then spray the frame yellow and glaze it. I was hesitant about the idea because the frame's corner was chipped and there was a split in the frame. But I figured a hefty coat of spray paint would mostly fix it. While we were at Home Depot though, I spotted this tucked in among some other wood:


It was pre-sanded, with a nice rounded edge. It was a little bit bigger than what I wanted, but it was the only one left. So I decided to make it work.


Materials:
Pre-sanded wood table round, about 18" in diameter (about $5)
Kilz Primer (about $5)
Rust-oleum Chalkboard spray paint (about $5, though I only used 1/2 the can)
Crayola colored chalk ($1)
Picture hangers (on hand)

 First, I primed with Kilz, which is my favorite primer because it gives a thick coat the first time. I gave it two coats, then did three thin coats of the chalkboard paint. Two coats were recommended, but I did an extra because I'd never used it before.


I brought it inside to dry overnight. It's a little more uneven/not as perfect as I would have liked because it was  very cold when I spray painted outside last night. But with no garage to paint in and in January in Kansas, cold weather can't be avoided. The unevenness isn't obvious, and it doesn't bother me. I don't strive for perfection; I'm happy with good enough!

The spray paint says to color the entire round with the side of the chalk and then wipe it off to "prep" the board. You're supposed to wait over 24 hours, but I couldn't stand it and did this the next afternoon (about 20 hours). I didn't notice any adverse effects.


After wiping off the chalk, I tried a few different designs before settling on the third one. I found it worked best if I re-chalked the entire chalkboard with the side of the chalk in between drawings. That way, I got rid of the ghosted letters from the time before.




After perfecting the design I wanted, I realized that I had forgotten to nail in the hanger. Oops! I carefully flipped over the board and hammered in the hanger. The tiny nails didn't look like they'd be enough to hold it up, but so far so good!


I've already hung it up over our bed, but I'm not sure I like it there. I think it conflicts with the vinyl chandelier.


I might take down the chandelier and move the chalkboard up. Plus that would give me space to have a nice new upholstered headboard!

XOXO darlings,
Cassie


4 comments:

  1. I love this project and I think it looks great with your vinyl chandelier. I love your chandelier too !!! I saw your comment about the tension on your sewing machine and I think I can help you with that. What kind of machine do you have? You can mail me at sewcool72@yahoo (dot com). I make my living sewing and know how frustrating tension can sometimes be.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw a comment you made on Make It and Love It and wanted to help you out with your machine problems! I can't find a contact me button on your lovely little blog though! Is there an email address I can reach you at? Sorry to post this here.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you both for your comments! You can reach me at teenytinydesign@gmail.com. I've added it up in the sidebar now. My thrifted sewing machine has been broke for a few months now, so any help would be very much appreciated!

    ReplyDelete