I was going to title this blog post "One man's junk is my treasure" but then the more I looked at it....well anyway.....
Once a month we have bulk garbage day here in our neighborhood. It's a great way to clean out the big junk in our houses without having to make a trip to the dump. We were on our way to church a couple of weeks ago when we saw the neighbors putting some great stuff on their curb and yelled out the window "Are you getting rid of that?!". They said "Yeah, take what you want!" so we did. The real prize for me was this ugly picture. It's huge (about 42" x 34") and I knew it would make a great chalkboard
We started with this.
I wanted the chalkboard to be magnetic as well so we got a piece of metal sheeting at Home Depot for about 22.00. Joey traced the old picture onto it and then cut it with his tin snips.
We cleaned up the metal with vinegar to remove the oils (the guy at Home Depot said that works). We didn't have white vinegar so apple cider did the job just fine. Then Joey gave it a light sanding with a fine grit sandpaper so the paint would have an easier time sticking.
One can of chalkboard spraypaint at about 4.00 did the trick.
We then used contact cement to glue the metal to the glass pane. Not our original idea but we wanted a hard backing for it and it was available.
Meanwhile, I was spraypainting like crazy using a white gloss paint. This was after we moved the hanging wire in the back so the frame would hang with the long side going horizontal (so it's wider instead of being taller).
I painted this shelf Joey made a few years back since Sofia had expressed an interest in it.
And here's what we ended up with. So fresh and pretty (and the banner is held in place with little magnets)! We are surprising Sofia with it and I can't wait to see her reaction. We're doing some other stuff in her room before she gets back but this was one of the bigger projects. And that wall paint color is Bermuda Bay from Glidden. I love the color but have learned my lesson and will never use Glidden again (but can honestly say I gave them a fair shake).
Here's a little close up for some of the frame detail.
I'll be back in a few days to draw a name for Joanna Figueroa's book so don't forget to leave a comment over at that post if you want in!
