Paint a Chalkboard Wall

Everyone needs to sit down.  I have a unique and genius idea to share with you all. 

I painted a chalkboard wall in my craft room.  No one has ever painted a wall with chalkboard paint before.  I’m sure of it.

What’s that? I’m the millionth blogger to slap chalkboard paint on their wall?  Really?  Who knew.

I was only going to do a post where I showed you my new chalkboard wall (because the process is not a new one).  But my brother and mom had questions on how I did it.  I then remembered that quite a few of my readers only read this blog (Which is scary for blogging.  Shout out the ladies at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility.)  Here’s what I learned.

How to Paint a Chalkboard Wall

Purchase your chalkboard paint.  I went with Rust-Oleum’s ChalkBoard paint.  I purchased it at Menards for ~$10.  I’ve seen it at Lowe’s also.  It’s located near the spray paint.  It comes in black and green.  I went with black.

Paint your wall as you would with any other wall paint.  I used two coats.  I used almost the entire can on this small section of wall.  I’m also a messy painter so there’s that.

Let the paint dry for at least 3 days. 

You will then need to “prime” the walls with chalk. You do this by rubbing the side of a piece of chalk all over the wall.  This step is a little messy but necessary.  Rubbing the chalk all over prevents your future writing from being permanently stuck on your wall.

I wiped the chalk off with a dry paper towel. And then vacuumed the floor because it was gross.

Now you are ready to draw on your wall!

Chalkboard walls are great for doodling. (All drawn by my little brother. I have zero drawing abilities.)

Chalkboard walls are also great for weekly yearly maternity photos.

I feel bad for the poor girl that ends up here after Googling “chalkboard wall maternity photo”.  Mwah ha ha.  It’s the little things in life that bring my brother and I joy.

Are you a fan of chalkboard walls or do they scare you?  Don’t worry.  They scared me.  And now I find them ridiculously fun. Even if it is totally over done.

New Living Room Rug

It’s another issue of “Blogger Show and Tell”.  I bought a new rug for the living room. 

This is rug #3 for the living room. Rug #1 was too small. Rug #2 tried to kill me. Rug #3 appears to be a much better fit. It’s a good size and I can breathe. Minor details in life.

I sold rug #1 and rug #2 on Craigslist which gave me extra dollars to replace the killer rug.  And the Craigslist encounters weren’t too awkward. Well, not horribly awkward for someone with zero people skills like myself.

The new rug is the Santa Ana Faded Antique Ikat from RugsUSA.  This isn’t a sponsored post.  I spent my hard earned Craigslist dollars on this lovely.  The rug shipped fast and was in perfect condition.

It’s definitely has more color than I’m used to but I really like it.  I works well with the vision I have for the living room.  (We plan to add antique white built-ins to replace to the ladder shelves.  We are also planning a new coffee table.  We’ll either repaint one or built one.  We’re being patient on this one.  At least Nate is.)

The colors of the rug work perfectly with our furniture.  It has a nice antiquey yet modern vibe.  The rug is very soft and squishy.  Important rug qualities.

My mom asked why we needed a rug beings we have carpet.  I’m sure some of you are asking the same question.  The answer is because it looks pretty.  There is no functional reason.  Just prettiness.

Show and Tell is over now.  I’m not sure what Ike was doing while we were taking these photos because he isn’t in a one of them.  So very weird.  I think he may have been napping in the office.

This post is very discombobulated.  I’m blaming the drugs my career as a pharmacist.

What do you think about me adding color in my life?  Weird, right?  Any great coffee table recommendations?  How do you feel about rugs on carpet?

Birthday Thrifting

I turn 31 today.  Ouch.  Maybe I’ll just turn 30 again.  Yes, I like that plan.

My family was in town this week-end for the special occasion.  New tradition is to spend Saturday thrifting while Nate spends the day in accounting land.  I’d love for him to join us.  But I also enjoy the freedom of buying without judgment. I like to buy Pyrex in peace.

I found some great bargains that I will show with you.  Everyone loves blogger Show and Tell.

I have been looking for chairs for my craft room for the past 2 months.  I found these lovelies for $10 a piece.  They are the perfect shape.  They do, however, need a paint job.

I can’t stop buying Pyrex.  It’s a sickness.  I told my mom to only let me buy square Pyrex.  She’s fired.  I guess I can’t blame her.  Can you pass up coral Pyrex or strawberry Pyrex?  You can’t.

I spotted this all bucket in an antique mall. I was telling my mom how adorable it was.  Long story short, the owner of the booth was there.  He kept trying to make a deal with me. I kept telling him it was cute but I am really cheap.  He told me he appreciated frugal people and ended up marking the bucket down from $45 to $5.  And I thought I was horrible at negotiating.

I’m a sucker for the American Gothic painting. It’s so very Iowa. I’m sure this one is totally an original.  I’m not exactly sure where it is going to live but I couldn’t pass it up.

I found these cute little rain boots.  They make me think of Spring which will never arrive in Iowa.  4-7” inches more of snow over the next two days.  I will focus on how darling the boots look on our console table.

I love a successful birthday thrifting adventure.

Find any good bargains lately?  What color should I paint those chairs?  Who thinks I need a life size version of those yellow boots?  Me too.