My $13 Chalkboard Makeover!

Let me start by saying that this weekend's chicken spaghetti was fabulous! The Pioneer Woman's first recipe was a success!

In addition to eating lots this weekend, I also spent some time on a fun project.

I successfully turned a picture frame from this

into this!


I told you in my last post that I wanted to add color to our white kitchen. I have also been wanting a chalkboard for our back wall, so I decided to be a little crafty and make one myself for $13.08! Before you say, "How could you be so unsentimental and turn your wedding guestbook frame into a chalkboard?" Just let me explain. I do confess, I'm not the most sentimental girl (my dirty wedding dress is still in a box in an attic), and the wedding frame was just sitting in our guest bedroom closet anyway. I kept the signatures and wedding picture in tact to preserve memories of our wedding, but the frame is now serving a much better purpose for the time being.

The total cost of the project included the primer, lime green paint, and chalkboard paint. I used the steel wool I already had to rough up the frame before painting.

I primed the glass and the frame. Michael doubted that I could turn glass into a chalkboard, but you can do just about anything with a can of spray paint these days!

After two coats of green paint on the frame and four coats of chalkboard paint, I let the frame and glass dry over night. I carefully re-fit the glass into the frame so it wouldn't break and then seasoned the chalkboard. I learned from other blogs and the back of the chalkboard spray paint can that you have to "season" the chalkboard before using. Simply put, you rub the chalk up and down the chalkboard to cover it and then erase before using.

My new chalkboard will go on the back wall of our kitchen. For now, it's just sitting on the floor because I plan to paint the kitchen in a few weeks. No use putting holes in the wall I guess!

I'm very proud of my new little creation, and it was very easy to do. You can turn almost any flat surface into a chalkboard, and if you have kids, this is a great project to do. For me, I just like kitchen chalkboards!