Happy 2018 friends! How was everyone’s new year? Ours was very nice, relaxing for the first time. We watched a lot of movies, took a lot of naps and then did some DIY. Being that we did some DIY I was inspired to share one of my most favorite projects *I* have ever done. Most of the time, Shaine does everything I just supervise but this particular project I did 90% of it, and he assisted in the small details. The funny thing about our relationship is I am SUPER OCD, but he is the one who is much more of a perfectionist than I am. I always say it’s important to find beauty in the imperfections and that is how I feel about my projects too. I just need them to look good enough, not perfect.
Anyways.. back to our beautiful, incredibly organized DIY Family planning center. When we moved into our house I walked right in and looked at that awkward spot next to the stairs and knew I needed to make something there, but what was the question. Fast forward nine months and I finally figured it out. –> DIY chalkboard calendar! Please note, this was made back at the end of October, early November, so when you look at the pictures, and you are curious what the hell that duck is doing, remember, it was HALLOWEEN!
Starting off I wanted to link the supplies I used:
- Chalkboard paint <— I bought mine at Lowes because we get a military discount but also because I love everything Valspar and they have the most extensive selection in my area, I bought a 32oz container and still have almost half left for projects in the future. (Shaine is so excited… NOT)
- Painters tape, because no one likes non-straight lines
- RANDOM paint brushes and rollers I found in the garage. I used one that was helpful to paint edges of the chalkboard but felt the roller was the best at helping the paint transfer evenly.
- And then a permanent silver marker to make the calendar outline.
1) First I taped off the edge of the chalkboard. 2) Lined the table with plastic to prevent a mess
3) The exact can I bought from Lowes.
Next step was to paint. I was surprised that this paint went on in the same consistency as any other wall paint I have ever used. If you are anything like me, you need to fight your urge to hurry this project along. I did three different coats, one coat each day, for three consecutive days. You want to let the chalkboard paint dry completely! That step is very very important. It is slightly annoying because you have to clean your brush and roller day after day, only after about ten to fifteen minutes of work, however, it was worth it. Picture one is after one coat, the second picture is the second coat and last, but not least the third picture is the final coat.
(Remember how I said it was Halloween, you understand why I preferenced that now.)
THIS STEP IS BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT and something I almost forgot to do. Once you have your final coat of paint on and dry, you MUST curate your chalkboard. What does that mean? It means you take the long side of the chalk and run it over every single inch of your new chalkboard. If you do not do this whatever you write on your chalkboard the first time will be permanent, which is not the point of a chalkboard right? So I did precisely that. I first did horizontal stripes from top to bottom and then switched to vertical stripes to make sure every inch was covered and covered well. After about thirty minutes and four pieces of broken chalk later it was completely covered.
I didn’t let it curate for too long, just enough time for me to give my poor fingers a break, maybe fifteen minutes at the most. Once I was ready to start again, I took a piece of paper towel, dry paper towel and just rubbed all of that chalk off. Section, by section for the entire thing.
And BAM, the chalkboard was finished. Now on to decorating and adding our communication center.
Remember how I said I did 90% of this project? Well, this is where Shaine’s 10% came in. I knew when I made the calendar I didn’t want to re-do the monthly lines every month, so I decided to make the calendar grid out of a permanent silver marker. Since Shaine lives here too and he didn’t want to look at my “nearly perfect lines” he decided he needed to step in.
He made 42 perfect square boxes — I asked him to leave space at the top of the calendar so I have plenty of room to write the month and anything else I thought would be fun! In addition to the calendar, I knew I wanted a place for a monthly quote, space to organize papers and then last a place where “kids” or drunken adults could draw. Quotes have always been so special to me, and after the few months I had endured I wanted a place I could look for daily inspiration.
And here is the finished project! I love the metal envelopes I was able to find on Etsy. Each came with a magnetic bow and allowed me to organize all the mail, bills and meal plans for each week. Even though it is just Shaine and me in our house, we both work so many weird hours, so we will go days without seeing each other, but this command center has indeed made a huge difference in our communication. He now knows what days I work each week, where to put the bills, etc.
I love that each month I get to be creative with the chalkboard and change things up.