Happy Transformation Tuesday!
As promised, I'll show you how I took this Goodwill find:
And turned it into our chalkboard message board:
Truthfully, this post probably should have been called How not to turn a mirror into a chalkboard. First off, I want to warn you that this post will be long because I went through quite the process with this project. I wouldn't say that the project was difficult, but hopefully, you can learn from some of the mistakes I made :) That said, let's get down to business.
The first step for this project was to sand the frame. Sorry. No pictures of this, but we can go ahead and leave this up to your imagination. After the frame is sanded, be sure to use a damp rag to wipe the area down so that you don't have loose dust on your surface. Next, I painted the first layer of chalkboard paint on the mirror.
This was Mistake #1. If you try this, please prime the mirror first -- the looking glass and the frame all at once. It will save you so much time...and paint. I borrowed the foam paint brush and painter's tape since I started this project at a friend's house. I picked up Valspar Chalkboard paint for $10 at Lowe's. I can already tell that this stuff will last a long time. How do I know? Well, I'm glad you asked. After the first layer dried, I packed up my project and moved it to my kitchen table. This little misadventure happened on the way home.
Shoutout to my girl Essence who saved the day! She was the one who recommended that I put my paint in a plastic bag before I left. Because this mess happened in the bag, I was able to salvage it and pour it back in the can to use it later. Hashtag winning! If this mess happened without the bag, Sylvia would have been a mess. Yes, I named my car. Moving on... To avoid Mistake #2, make sure you tightly close your paint, whether you are transporting or not. This will prevent messes and will prevent the paint from drying out. Once I set up my new workspace. I slapped on another layer before going to bed.
Enter Mistake #3. I think this one actually cost me the most time and money. I didn't have a plan before I started this project. I wasn't set on a color for the frame, so I made the project more difficult than it had to be. I ended up choosing the gold color that you see above, but that meant that I went back and primed over all of the work I had done so far. That probably could have been avoided if I had been more careful. I was priming the frame with spray primer and got some on the chalkboard part. :( So, I went ahead and primed the whole thing. Le sigh.
Next, I sprayed the Rustoleum gold spray paint from the Alphabet Magnets project this past weekend. I did this outside and snapped the picture. The smell is crazy strong.
Then, I added two layers of the chalkboard paint...again. This part, I did indoors. I forgot to mention this earlier, but the chalkboard paint has little to no odor. I've heard chalk paint doesn't have a heavy odor too, so I'm planning to try chalk paint to redo the dresser that we're using as a buffet. Forgive the mess in the background. A crafter's gotta craft :)
One key step you'll need to make sure you do is to prime the chalkboard. I bought some cheap chalk at Walmart. I think it was less than a dollar actually. I just rubbed the side of the chalk up and down the board. Let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe it off.
This helps to prepare the chalkboard for writing and erasing. Without it, whatever you write will still show faintly on the board long after you erase it.
So that's how I did it! One thing I should mention is that...I don't really love it haha. I think the gold is a little much so I'm think of painting part of the frame a blue/teal color. I'll keep you posted. What do you all think of the color?
Hopefully, you can avoid some of the mistakes I made to save yourself some time and frustration. I wanted to wait to post this project until I got my chalkboard markers. I ordered Chalk Ink markers from Amazon. After talking to a few people and reading reviews online, these seem like they are the best. I'll let you know when they arrive. That'll give me a chance to learn a thing or two about lettering and write a review. :)
My favorite part of the project was when my husband looked at the mirror and told me he was proud of me. I know that I've gotten kind of a track record of saying I'm going to do things and then failing in the follow-through. You all saw that last month when I declared that I would lose 20 pounds during the month of September. Lofty goal with no follow through. Imagine being married to that. I know it can be a bit discouraging, but I am grateful to God for a husband who shows grace and is happy to acknowledge my accomplishments and keep me motivated toward completing my other goals.
Your turn! Have you completed any projects recently that you'd like to show off? What are you working on for your home?
The first step for this project was to sand the frame. Sorry. No pictures of this, but we can go ahead and leave this up to your imagination. After the frame is sanded, be sure to use a damp rag to wipe the area down so that you don't have loose dust on your surface. Next, I painted the first layer of chalkboard paint on the mirror.
This was Mistake #1. If you try this, please prime the mirror first -- the looking glass and the frame all at once. It will save you so much time...and paint. I borrowed the foam paint brush and painter's tape since I started this project at a friend's house. I picked up Valspar Chalkboard paint for $10 at Lowe's. I can already tell that this stuff will last a long time. How do I know? Well, I'm glad you asked. After the first layer dried, I packed up my project and moved it to my kitchen table. This little misadventure happened on the way home.
Shoutout to my girl Essence who saved the day! She was the one who recommended that I put my paint in a plastic bag before I left. Because this mess happened in the bag, I was able to salvage it and pour it back in the can to use it later. Hashtag winning! If this mess happened without the bag, Sylvia would have been a mess. Yes, I named my car. Moving on... To avoid Mistake #2, make sure you tightly close your paint, whether you are transporting or not. This will prevent messes and will prevent the paint from drying out. Once I set up my new workspace. I slapped on another layer before going to bed.
Enter Mistake #3. I think this one actually cost me the most time and money. I didn't have a plan before I started this project. I wasn't set on a color for the frame, so I made the project more difficult than it had to be. I ended up choosing the gold color that you see above, but that meant that I went back and primed over all of the work I had done so far. That probably could have been avoided if I had been more careful. I was priming the frame with spray primer and got some on the chalkboard part. :( So, I went ahead and primed the whole thing. Le sigh.
Next, I sprayed the Rustoleum gold spray paint from the Alphabet Magnets project this past weekend. I did this outside and snapped the picture. The smell is crazy strong.
Then, I added two layers of the chalkboard paint...again. This part, I did indoors. I forgot to mention this earlier, but the chalkboard paint has little to no odor. I've heard chalk paint doesn't have a heavy odor too, so I'm planning to try chalk paint to redo the dresser that we're using as a buffet. Forgive the mess in the background. A crafter's gotta craft :)
One key step you'll need to make sure you do is to prime the chalkboard. I bought some cheap chalk at Walmart. I think it was less than a dollar actually. I just rubbed the side of the chalk up and down the board. Let it sit for a few minutes and then wipe it off.
This helps to prepare the chalkboard for writing and erasing. Without it, whatever you write will still show faintly on the board long after you erase it.
So that's how I did it! One thing I should mention is that...I don't really love it haha. I think the gold is a little much so I'm think of painting part of the frame a blue/teal color. I'll keep you posted. What do you all think of the color?
Hopefully, you can avoid some of the mistakes I made to save yourself some time and frustration. I wanted to wait to post this project until I got my chalkboard markers. I ordered Chalk Ink markers from Amazon. After talking to a few people and reading reviews online, these seem like they are the best. I'll let you know when they arrive. That'll give me a chance to learn a thing or two about lettering and write a review. :)
My favorite part of the project was when my husband looked at the mirror and told me he was proud of me. I know that I've gotten kind of a track record of saying I'm going to do things and then failing in the follow-through. You all saw that last month when I declared that I would lose 20 pounds during the month of September. Lofty goal with no follow through. Imagine being married to that. I know it can be a bit discouraging, but I am grateful to God for a husband who shows grace and is happy to acknowledge my accomplishments and keep me motivated toward completing my other goals.
Your turn! Have you completed any projects recently that you'd like to show off? What are you working on for your home?
Well done. Glad you included the mistakes for others to learn from. My meager accomplishment for the month was changing your Mom's head and tail light bulbs on the van. Keep up the good work, you have a nice writing style.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for reading! Kudos to you on the car maintenance. I'm not sure I could do that! Maybe you can help me figure out how people who don't have google/blogger accounts can leave comments!
DeleteOmagawsh is that comment^^^ real? That's how you know this is a real blog lol. Congrats on finishing the mirror it looks awesome! I could see the teal adding a nice touch though. Plus, I like how human this is; you don't come off as an intimidating professional, which makes the projects seem more doable.
ReplyDeleteHaha! When you get a comment from RBH, you know you're big time! I will definitely post a update picture once I settle on a color (this is why the mirror hasn't been mounted yet). Thank you Thank you Thank you for the compliments, my faithful reader, haha. I have a few smaller DIY projects to complete yet, so I'll post those soon too! Stay tuned!
DeleteFabulous!
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff My!! I have to say, you are a natural blogger. You present your content very professionally, yet in a very inviting way. Especially like that you thought of even mentioning the mistakes you make in each process. People need to hear that. Keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeleteHi, this is your Mom. Will comment later, have to run. Love you...
ReplyDeleteMy comments keep disappearing...One more try...
ReplyDeleteThis is inspiring you are making some great stuff.
I am glad you are on a roll....
What room will you put this in if you are not going to sell it? Simply beautiful! Mom
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mom! After I settle on what I'm going to do with the color, it's going to hang next to the dining room table where that big canvas used to be. That has been moved to the office. I really need to post an update on how the apartment looks now.
Delete