My obsession with blackboard paint

I love blackboard paint. There, I said it. I bought a little tub last year and since then I’ve been thinking of all the ways I can mark my chalky territory.

During the Christmas holidays I was sorting through my kitchen cupboards and I found an old ceramic popcorn tub I bought in the sales a few years ago. Pretty, but I never use it (when we do microwave popcorn we eat it out of the bag like savages). So rather than put it in the charity bag I thought I’d do a bit of upcycling and turn it into a holder for all my hair bits and bobs. And this is where the blackboard paint comes in!

If you’ve never used blackboard paint before, it’s fairly easy. The paint I used (from Wilkinsons) doesn’t need priming beforehand, but read the instructions first, as different brands vary. I just gave the pot a scrub to remove the grease (and any errant popcorn kernels) and then set off with the first coat

The paint was touch dry in about twenty minutes, but I’d definitely advise waiting longer before putting another coat on – you don’t want to let rip with the chalk only to find you’ve gouged through the paint! I found two coats was plenty.

I ummed and aahed about painting the inside, but decided against it – the white looks good offset against the blackboard paint (plus, I was too lazy).

Once your paint is completely dry, you need to “season” the paint before you start scribbling on it. This is when you rub chalk all over the surface and then remove it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m not 100% sure of the science behind this, but I have been told that because blackboard paint is abrasive, rubbing chalk all over the surface before writing on it for the first time means the chalk gets into the gaps. This makes it easier to write on and makes it easier to remove your doodlings when you fancy a change (I remember the first thing I painted – I forgot to season it and wrote a slightly naughty word on it… that slightly naughty word remains on the paint to this day!)

And voila – my lovely new pot for my hair stuff was complete! A nice quick project to keep me amused during the Christmas hols. Upcycling for the win.

 

I still have a lot of paint left (a little goes a loooooong way!) so I daresay there will be a lot of blackboard paint projects on the horizon!

What have you turned into a blackboard today? 🙂

CB x