I have always loved doodling and encourage my kids to doodle till their heart is content.
Except for on the walls and the leather couch again.
The only thing is, I hate wasting paper.
So obviously, I love that chalkboards allow the opportunity of eliminating paper so I can have a clear conscience when the kids and their little minds want to create.
All. Day. Lonnnggggg.
I just fill their little hands with pieces of chalk and let them go crazy on the black sheet of any of the chalkboards in our home.
We have been incorporating black boards or chalk boards into our spaces for almost a decade.
In our last house we added a little chalkboard wall in our kitchen.
We loved it. Our only child at the time could scribble away while we cooked dinner and we could leave grocery lists that you could see from the front door, and we would decorate it for the season and for parties. It was perfect for us.
It is hard to tell in this photo, but we incorporated a little edge on the bottom of it to catch all the chalk dust from the scribbles our first born would make on it.
Unfortunately, he also liked to use that ledge as a way to catapult his curious little boy body up into outer space.
So, we decided our new home also needed a place for our children to create, but this time we left off the diving board.
This is my all time favorite chalk board project! And you can easily make one at your place too.
#1 Chalkboard Wall
To do so, you will first trace and measure the desired size on your wall.
Make sure this spot is clear of the hot stove and the swinging refrigerator door. Your
children and guests are going to love this little area and you don’t
want their creativity to be interrupted with ouchies.
children and guests are going to love this little area and you don’t
want their creativity to be interrupted with ouchies.
Once your chalkboard paint is dry you can simply box it in with the molding of your choice.
The child loving edge is optional.
#2 Give An Old Mirror New Life!
I love rethinking old items and such was the case with these small silver framed mirrors I had had for 15 years.
They seemed too small when grouped together, and I only had three instead of the original four I had started off with. I was about to donate them to someone who would have more use for them, when I suddenly realized I could have NEW use for them.
To make these yourself you can find an old mirror (or picture frame) and simply tape off the edges with painters tape.
Then paint right on top of the glass.
Thin coats are key when painting a chalkboard on top of slippery glass. Remember fine coats and lots of them!
Once finished, you can then incorporate them into a gallery wall.
Immediately you will have a place to leave words of wisdom or love notes to a special person.
Those same frames can be used in family photo shoots or for the photo shoots you take at home with friends….
We loved using them in our New Years photo booth this year!
(PS: Is it too late to share our whole new years party and all the awesome details?? Maybe a Christmas in July recap?? #badblogger #busymama)
#3 Organizing
I am slowly transferring all my baking essentials and pantry goodies from plastic into glass containers.
But man, you don’t want to mix up the salt and the sugar when you are making treats for your child’s class at school!
To permanently label your new glass containers, simply tape off whatever shape you would like on your glass jars and apply thin coats of your chalkboard paint on to them.
Remember to press the tape down firmly so you don’t have any bleed marks on the jars rounded corners. Leave adequate drying time before removing your tape.
You will never again mix up that white wheat flour when your baking a cake for your gluten free friend!
Hooray for no ER visits!
#4 Incentive Containers
These are similar to your mason jar containers for your perishable food items.
Simply find some containers at your dollar store and follow the same steps you used to make the labeled jars mentioned above. You may want a container for everyone in your house hold if you have a lot of chores that need done.
We love these, because as often as possible we are trying to praise and reward our children for work well done. You can check out the whole post about that HERE.
(March break is coming up Mamas! This is a great way to keep the peace when everyone is home for a week.)
Or, you can keep track of your little ones special keep sake items, or their allowance, or anything really; the possibilities are endless.
#5 Re-purposing Old Trays
Recently, I came across an old beat up tray at my local thrift store. It had pretty edging and caught my eye immediately. Unfortunately, the center of it was all scratched up from wear and tear from its previous owners.
I knew some trusty chalk board paint would help transform this piece into something useful.
Something I needed to add the finishing touches to a little corner in our kitchen I was redoing.
With a quick wash down and after taping down the pretty edges, I painted two coats of chalkboard paint on to my little beat up tray.
When I pulled off the tape, I was completely pleased with my fastest chalkboard project yet!
The little tray was re purposed into a simple way for the whole family to write down messages. It was a bonus that this little project was done and dry in an afternoon too. 🙂
Just in time, so that I was able to snap some kitchen photos. I have a pretty little corner makeover to share with you next!
It is safe to say that over the years we have used up our little can of chalkboard paint but I can definitely see more projects like these ones in our future.
AND, a family calligraphy class or two. 😉
What kind of chalkboard projects do you love???
