We Will Always Have Paris

Chalkboard Love: Hooray For The Pumpkin Pie

I love this time of year...

The light is changing and everything appears brighter.

The fields of beans are a bold yellow and the corn is drying up, giving the air an earthy smell.

A light jacket is required in the morning, but I can get away with a t-shirt by noon.

Pumpkin spice is everywhere and...

MY KIDS ARE IN SCHOOL!

To celebrate the change in seasons, I've changed up our kitchen chalkboard:

 

Chalkboard Love: Spring Clean Up

It is snowing (SNOWING!) again.  Mama needs a little Spring.  I changed up our kitchen chalkboard this evening, listing everything we need to get done as soon as it warms up.  Hubby is soooooo not happy with me...

Chalkboard Love: Catching Up

I'm still loving my giant kitchen chalkboard. Here are some of the chalk masterpieces we have enjoyed over the past few months:

 

 

There's still a bit of snow on the ground here and more is popping up in next week's forecast. I am in desperate need of some warm weather and a Summer "Bucket List" on the chalkboard...

 

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Chalkboard Love: Now Is Now

My oldest daughter is obsessed with Little House in the Big Woods .  I think she's read it at least three times since school let out in June.  When I was looking for something new for our kitchen chalkboard, I thought the last line from the book was perfect.  It is especially perfect for this time in my life, when my children seem to change overnight.  It also seemed perfect for...

Chalkboard Love: Summer To Do List

My giant 4' x 5' kitchen chalkboard is all set for summer!  I'm thrilled to report that we've already managed to check off seven of our items!

Chalkboard Love: Spring 2013

 

I changed up the kitchen chalkboard for spring. I had stumbled across this quote some time ago and loved it. For some reason, this just makes me incredibly happy.

 

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Chalkboard Love: September 2012

I think my hubby hates the new chalkboard.  Four feet by five feet gives me a lot of room for "to do" lists!

Chalkboard Love: The New Chalkboard

Several years ago I converted a yard sale mirror into an adorable chalkboard for our kitchen wall.  We used it constantly for "To Do" lists, quotes and weekly menus.  Everybody who came over to our house commented on the chalkboard and wanted one for themselves. 

We are slowly (read slooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwllllllyyyyyyy) remodeling our main floor and my red kitchen and dining room walls have been repainted white and asparagus green.  Everything is fresh and bright and happy.  I knew that I wanted to change up our little menu chalkboard.  I wanted to go bigger.

Way bigger:

Like, 4 foot by 5 foot bigger. 

Once I seasoned it with plain chalk, I was ready to go:

How we did it:  My 4' x 5' chalkboard was made using hardboard from Home Depot.  Just buy a big piece and have them cut it to size for you.  I painted several layers of chalkboard paint using a foam roller meant for cabinets and doors.  For tips on painting with chalkboard paint, please see my original chalkboard post.

Hubby then used unfinished pine moulding to make a wood frame (note, he had to substantially alter the moulding to make it work) and he painted it white.  The hardboard was nailed into wall studs and then touch up paint was applied.  After everything dried, the frame was mounted and nailed to the wall.

The chalks I used on my new chalkboard are Quartet Omega Chalks (see below).  Absolutely love them and they clean up better than the chalk markers I had been using.

 

Products Used:

Project: Menu Board

Last month I bought a $2.00 non-descript mirror at my daughter's pre-school yard sale.  I couldn't wait to get home & re-purpose it as a menu board in my kitchen.  This is what I started with:

I carefully removed the mirror, flipped it over and painted the backside with black chalkboard paint (found at my local Home Depot).  I've painted several things with chalkboard paint lately & I've discovered a few tricks to make things go smoothly:

• It will take several layers to get a nice heavy coat.  Apply your first coat in one direction.  Allow it to fully dry (1 to 3 days), before adding another coat.  If your first coat was vertical, make your second coat horizontal.  Again, allow it to fully dry before adding another coat.  Your third coat should be the the same direction as your first.
• I used a foam brush and a light hand & I found that I didn't have nearly as many lines as a traditional bristle brush.  When you're making a chalkboard, you really don't want any lines.

While my mirror/chalkboard dried, I cleaned the frame and liberally wiped it down with a rubbing alcohol-soaked towel.  Once the alcohol had evaporated, I began painting my frame bright white (to go with my kitchen).  I applied numerous layers to get a nice professional finish.

Once both the frame and the mirror/chalkboard were dry, I carefully inserted the chalkboard into the frame (the mirror is still on the back, if I ever decide to use it again). and hung it in my kitchen.

I couldn't wait to pull out my chalk ink markers and plan out this week's menu!:

I'm off to make tonight's dinner....