DIY chalkboard

I love to up-cycle so when I knew we had extra cabinet doors (from removing the cabinets above our fridge in the kitchen), I got to thinking ...what can I make?? Well, guess what - I'm making a chalkboard. It was rather simple (aka my kind of project).

Supplies:
1 kitchen cabinet door
1 sm. can of Rustoleum chalkboard paint
Frame paint (we used left over wall paint)
2 foam rollers
1 foam brush
1 paint brush
Sawtooth frame hangers
1 door handle

1. Prepare space. I was daring and used my kitchen table, so I put down plastic. I also elevated the cabinet door on a small box so that I could easily paint the edges.

 

2. Sand, degloss and prime the cabinet door. I used my same go-to primer I've been using all along: Zinsser's Primer.

3. Paint the "frame." I used left-over wall paint for the frame. To easily get in all the nooks and crannies, I used a normal paint brush. Then I used a foam roller to smoothly paint the flat surfaces. I had to do about 3 coats of paint for the coverage I wanted.

 (Can you tell I started the project late at night, got tired, and started again the morning? So pardon my lighting change.)

4. Tape off painted frame.

5. Let the chalkboard paint begin! To get into the corners and edges, I used the foam brush first. Then I used the roller for the rest of the coverage. I chose to do 3 coats of chalkboard paint, with 4 hours of drying time in between each coat (per the can's recommendation).

6. Remove hinges (after removing the painter's tape). In hindsight, I probably should have removed the hinges before I even started. But here, in my timeline, is when I chose to take them off.

7. Attach sawtooth hanger. This is for hanging up the board on the wall - I chose to only have one in the center. Here, you can also attach bumpers to each corner of the board so that it isn't constantly banging against the wall.

8. Attach the door handle. I found a handle for $3.50 at Menard's that I liked. I also made sure it was wide enough and deep enough to actually hold chalk. I also kept in the mind the width of the frame.

9. Admire! Now all I need to do is buy some chalk...