Chalk it up

As you may be able to tell from my earlier posts, I am infatuated with chalkboard paint. I know, chalkboard paint hit the mainland in 2009, but as a friend said, trends take 2 years to get to Hawaii, so I'm just now discovering it. Or maybe it's because I actually have a toddler who likes to draw, that I have found a use for it.

Anyway, you may remember the little table and chairs that my sis-in-law gave me when she was moving.

So, I primed them and then applied 4 coats of chalkboard paint in blue to the table and legs. Rustoleum sells like 16 different colors of chalkboard paint so you aren't restricted just to black or green. Then, I painted the chairs in a semi-gloss light green which matched the PBK chair in the room. After 3 days, I "primed" the table, which meant I used a piece of chalk lengthwise to draw all over it and then cleaned it. Apparently, that helps you be able to remove marks in the future.

So, here it is in the playroom.

And, of course, what's the first thing Nikhil wants us to draw on it? Thomas!

Since I was in the chalkboard mood, I decided to tackle one more DIY project. I wanted to make chalkboard to do lists for myself and Jeff for our home office. So, you can see why Jeff is not overjoyed at this thought.

Throughout our relationship, I have tried many different ways to remind Jeff of things that need to get done. When it was time to plan our wedding, Jeff insisted that an online list was the best way to go, so we used www.rememberthemilk.com. Interestingly, Jeff seemed more into exploring the idea of these online lists - like you could add tags, labels and even use your cell phone to call jott and a person in Indian would literally add your message to your to do list. That's all well and good, the features were great, but if you kept hitting postpone on your "tasks" well then, what's the point? 4 years later, I bet if I looked at our wedding tasks, I think Jeff probably "postponed" the majority of them.

So, I wanted to go simple. A chalkboard that he couldn't ignore, right on his desk. So, I took some old frames I had lying around the house.

Then, I painted the glass with black chalkboard paint.

And, spray painted the frames white with 2 coats of gloss white Rustoleum paint. I didn't use any primer or sand the frames at all.

Then I just inserted the glass back into the frames and presto - instant honey do list.

Do you like how "hang the linen pinboard" is on there? Yup, it's still on the floor of our home office.