Make Your Own Chalkboard Paint

You may recall that a little while ago I ended up pulling a last minute babysitting mission and was left with not a lot of time to plan some activities (we made a board game from scratch). Well, I was apparently enough of a hit that the kids wanted me back, and so I figured I’d better up my ante this time.

I’ve been thinking about painting my closet door with chalkboard paint so I can use it as a to-do board and shopping list, so I’ve been researching what paint is the best. In my research, the number one thing I discovered is that chalkboard paint is super expensive! Then as I dug around a little futher, I found this article, which shows you how to make your own.

Voila—a chance to keep the kids busy AND research a home improvement project at the same time. Good job, me!

First, I asked the parents if there was a surface in their house or elsewhere that could be chalkboard painted. Excitedly, the mom revealed that the kids’ room could use some sprucing, and that I was welcome to commandeer a wall or door there. Since my eventual chalkboard will be a door, I decided that the back of the kids’ door was the best option. And the dad, savvy dude that he is, very smartly took the door off its hinges and transplanted it to the backyard for us to paint at will (someone has two kids under 8!).

Then we got to it, making nice blue paint (kids’ choice), following the awesome recipe to the letter. This time, the actual making was more exciting than the using—once we actually got the door painted, a second coat on, and wiped dry, the kids weren’t that excited to write on the door. But we did it, nonetheless, and the mom reports that a week later, when they remembered it was there and got some new colours of chalk, that they were all over it. Yay!