Eastlake Chalkboard

This is a frame I've had sitting around in my garage forever. I can't even remember when I got it. I was looking at Pinterest and a light bulb went off in my head--chalkboard.

So I cleaned up the frame, (it was very dirty), measured the opening in the back and went to the hardware store and had this piece of MDF board cut to my measurements. (You will probably have left over MDF because it comes in big sheets. Save it for a rainy day). I sanded slightly the side I'm going to spray to give it some tooth. The chalkboard paint sticks better.

Here's the spray I used. Krylon Chalkboard Paint. I actually wanted it to be magnetic, too, and have been wanting to try this magnetic paint. I sprayed 2 coats of this first, but it seemed "hairy" so I sanded it a little. That was a mistake because I sanded off all the magnet particles. I'll try this again on another project. I hear you can get magnet/chalkboard paint at Sherwin Williams. I'm gonna try that next time. Anyway, then I sprayed the chalkboard paint on, 2 coats, waiting between each coat. After it dried, I wiped it down really good with a paper towel because black dust rubs off.

I was browsing through Pinterest one day, and I saw that someone else had used an old drawer pull turned upside down to hold the chalk. I just happened to have one in my "stash of stuff just in case I need it one day things". I screwed it to the bottom of the frame.

Finally, I placed the painted MDF into the frame, nailed it into place with brads, strung a picture wire across two eye hooks in the back, and VOILA! I love it and it was so easy. I have many other frames just waiting to be "chalkboarded".