Changing an Ugly Picture to a Large Chalkboard

When we built our house and moved a year and a half ago, we had blank walls for a long time. We decided to have some people over and I really wanted something, anything, on the walls at this point. I hadn't brought most of our wall decor with us, because the color scheme didn't match, or to be honest, it was about 20+ years old and possibly from my college days. (Do you remember Jeff Foxworthy saying, 'Hey, if that's there on the side of the road after midnight, it's in my living room!') Haha. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little, but you get the drift...(and if we're being honest, occasionally I've seen some cute stuff on the side of the road!).

One thing I did bring with us was a large framed picture. I didn't like the picture itself but I still liked the frame.

I was wandering around the house wondering what to do with it when I thought I'd really love to put a big chalkboard in the kitchen area. I had read somewhere about using chalkboard paint on glass...Hmmm. So off to Lowe's I went. I got a can of chalkboard spray paint (read on the label, it will say whether it will stick to glass, some won't). I covered the frame part of the picture with newspaper and painted the glass, spraying on three light coats. Bam! It worked! I had a large chalkboard!

If you're not into painting, I heard that Hobby Lobby has sheets of chalkboard paper. I bet that would work too if it's large enough for your frame. Before writing on the board, you have to prime it by taking the side of a piece of chalk and going over the entire board. Erase, then it's ready! If you skip this step, most of the time the words or drawings on your board will not fully erase. I also learned that using a chalkboard pen became permanent even after I had primed the board. Ugh. I had to paint the whole thing over, so be warned if you plan to use those, it could be there forever.

It really helps when you have a hubby who can draw on the chalkboard...if it was left to me, there'd be a stickman drawn there. He is so talented, it's has been wonderful to have a place to showcase his drawings in the house. I just hate to erase any of them.

He did the above drawing by covering the board with chalk and erasing until he had the image of a moose.

I know! If I tried that it would look like some sort of alien.

We've had the best time drawing seasonal pictures (he draws, I watch) and letting the kids draw on it occasionally. Occasionally only, because with boys the drawing always end up being embellished with words like, 'poo' or something like that. If you don't have boys, trust me on this one. Boys are obsessed with bathroom words, which do not need to be near the kitchen.

I love to repurpose things, especially for just the cost of spray paint, plus it's one less blank wall! Tell me your repurposing ideas! I need more!

Take care!

Elizabeth