3 Chalkboard Projects {DIY Chalkboard Paint Recipe, too}

Holy chalkboards, Batman! These are all projects I did in a mad rush to get my guest room and bathroom ready for my super rad Grandma to visit. Cause, heaven forbid, she sleep in my hoarders paradise I mean project storage room/slash spare bedroom without a major overhaul! ;-)

Chalkboards aren't anything new in blog world- so I bundled a few of them in this post. They're all chalkboard projects, but they're all different!

First up- I had this a wood frame, but no backing. I thought it would make a great chalkboard for my bathroom. Cause every great bathroom design includes a chalkboard!? lol   I cut a piece of hardboard/masonite to fit the back of the frame and used E600 glue to affix it to the back. 

I wanted a place to keep the chalk so I cut the hardboard the size of the whole frame- NOT the frame's inset opening where the picture would go. That way there's a little ledge to keep chalk! See {^}?    

I wanted a chalkboard paint that matched the gray on the room, so I made my own. I used the same flat paint base color {Blind Date by Allen + Roth for Valspar} that I used on my DIY chalk paint headboard. I looked up recipes for chalkboard paint- and they all looked super easy...

But I already had Plaster of Paris from the headboard, and I didn't have unsanded tile grout- which the recipe called for. Soooo, I winged it and MADE MY OWN RECIPE!

But it turned out great, like, it's a chalkboard- so here's my recipe! 

You need 1 cup flat latex paint, 2 tbsp Plaster of Paris- and a few drops of water- only if paint is too thick. I painted several thin coats, maybe 5-6 of them. It only took about 10 minutes to dry in between coats, if that.

Next one- I got this frame many moons ago at the same yard sale that I got the headboard and the materials for my framed faux grain sack bulletin board and the painting I used for my over-the-couch ombre art and a bunch of other crap amazing finds! The frame was ridiculously bad! It had a cheetah print, with a cheetah print mat and the FRAME had little cheetah holes in it! Like holes all over the frame! I got it for free so I figured they might be fill-able and brought it home. In the end, and I do mean in the end cause I tried to painstakingly fill them with wall Spackle first, the electric sander, thankfully, took care of it.

I used DIY chalk paint to paint the frame- then waxed the heck out of it with Johnson's furniture wax. Remember you need ventilation with that stuff cause it smells fierce!

There was still a bit of texture left over from the cheetah spots- but I think it just looks vintagey-old, so whatevs at this point. I never want to see cheetah spots again. Ever.

 

I used the chalkboard spray paint for this one. I did several light coats of spray paint, building slowly- probably 5-6 total. I sprayed right on top of the glass. I love how you can do that cause otherwise it would have been cost me 15 bucks to have a large piece of masonite cut down to size. The glass also provides a perfectly smooth surface.

Lastly-I  had these {^} two frames hanging in the guest bathroom before I did my little makeover.  

The frames had gold speckles on them {I know what you're thinking, but I promise they were in style when I bought them!} and the mats were tan and beige.

This last project was sort of a throw away. Meaning, if it didn't work I would have thrown it away! ;-)
When all this chalkboard painting madness was happening I threw the frames AND the MATS in the pile and painted them too. 

{PS. Pics in these frames are by my super, duper talented friend, Emilie Johnson- check her out!}

Surprisingly, the mats weren't ruined! Crazy, right? I had to do SUPER light coats of spray paint to make sure the paint couldn't puddle on the porous paper. I think it adds a little bit of punch to an otherwise very calm guest space. So now you {and I} know, you can paint outdated or not your style picture mats! Yay!

These were my first chalkboard paint projects ever. I pretty much dove in head first!! I loved the DIY version- it's pretty fantastic to be able to make your own chalkboard paint in any color.
Have you guys tried it already? Do you have any tips for me?


Looking for places to link up your projects? Check out my Party page.

I'm also linked up here.

DIY Chalk Paint {tutorial}

Once upon a time, long, long ago- I went to a yard sale, it was summer and the yard sale was closing down. The family told us we could take whatever we wanted, so Z and I basically cleaned house. We left with ginormous  pile of goodies. Then, sometime last fall, I primed pretty much everything in sight in my project room with Kilz. I mean, puppers beware!- cause I almost painted them for good measure!
 Then all said items went to the spare room for a long, long time. {cue sad face} There everything stayed until a certain {wonderful} grandmother was coming to town and I was forced to get my buns in gear.

This is how we got from this outdated wooden headboard to a chalk painted beaut. I don't own real chalk paint and haven't found a project that's worth the high cost yet. So for now- I'll stick to this formula by the awesome Sherry @ No Minimalist Here. I pretty much stuck with her recipe-

MIX: 2/3 cup FLAT LATEX PAINT

with 1/3 PLASTER of PARIS

MIX WELL- you can add a little water to the paint until the desired chalkiness and consistency are found. You can see about how think I made my paint. I just mixed my paint in an old Tupperware container-Oh yeah, it can be stored for later; just add a little bit of water each time.

Alright, let's get to it!
1] First, with homemade chalk paint, like the real stuff, you do NOT need to prep the surface or prime your surface first! I had primed mine months before I knew what I wanted to do with it (remember my lengthy yard sale tale?}

2] Now, mix up your paint-I got the plaster of paris from Lowe's and the whole thing cost me 6 bucks. I used Olympic flat paint from Lowe's and had it color matched to Blind Date by Allen + Roth for Valspar.

This DIY version of chalk paint paint dries really fast, so make sure you work in sections.

Do you see how the paint looks a little streaky {above^} right in the center where I'm painting it? It won't dry like that, so don't sweat it! After awhile the paint for thicker- again you can just add a little more water, stir really well,  and keep using it.

One coat of paint was just about enough to cover the board. But you can see where I had done some touch ups and they were a different shade, so make sure you don't miss any spots unless you want to do 2 coats of paint all over!

3] Next, you want to do a light sand all over. If any streaks didn't dry flat this will take care of that. I used 320 grit sand paper.

4] To distress I used a 220 grit sanding block and a putty knife to distress the edges. Personal preference comes into this part big time. I want my piece to look like it was a little banged up over time- nothing crazy.

5] If you're doing a glaze, now's the time to add that finish. I have to admit, I'm pretty sucky at glazing. I don't know what the problem is- I've watched the tutorials, it's just not working for me. So I skipped that step and went straight to wax. 

6] I used Johnson's clear paste wax- nothing fancy. It was hard to track down furniture wax locally- you can find a few versions on Amazon- and locally I found Ace Hardware had a bunch to choose from. This one cost me 10 bucks.  It stunk to high heck so use it somewhere ventilated but it did the job. Make sure you let the wax cure, and you're good to go! I love the shine it adds to the headboard!

There you have it- my headboard cost me less than 20 bucks and I have a ton of supplies left over- the whole headboard took 1 1/3 cups of paint and 2/3 cups of the Plaster of Paris. The paste wax is still almost full- not bad right?!

Oh yeah, the bed is just a twin and the headboard is going along the side of it. I like to throw a bunch of pillows on it and use it like a day bed/couch when company isn't here. 

Some of these pics I took on a sunny day {below}, then others {above} it was a little overcast. I cannot believe how different the colors of the headboard is in each one!! This is one of those paint colors looks totally different in different lighting. I'm glad I didn't try it on my walls!

The cute little pillow cover in the center was purchased off Etsy- it's made from a vintage tea towel. Love. The bedding I bought had been marked down three times at TJMaxx- and I paid 20 bucks. Almost the same as the pillow cover! lol The frames above the bed were from Target- but I don't think they sell them anymore.
Oh yeah- and my Grams was super comfy in the space, so I call it a success. Peace out homies- thanks for stopping by!

Looking for places to link up your projects? Check out my Party page.

I'm also linked up here.