From Mirrored Closet Doors to Homeschool Chalkboard!

We're less than 2 weeks away from the beginning of kindergarten, and since I am homeschooling I've had to come up with some of my own ideas on how to cut costs and still maintain a functioning home + school environment. One dilemma has been a large writing surface (i.e. dry erase or chalk board). 

 

After a little digging I picked the sliding mirror closet doors in my daughter's room as the victim. Normally I would hate to cover them... she loves to use them when she plays, but unfortunately one of the doors has a large crack and jagged edge that I've been itching to hide somehow. And available wall space is an issue so this was a win win!


 

 

 



Here is what you will need:

Glass cleaner

 

Microfiber cloth

(or something that will pick up all the lint!)

 

**Primer**

(I used a grey primer. If you don't prime you risk an uneven coat of paint resulting in more paint being used and possibly peeling prematurely.)

Chalkboard paint
(Valspar brand is what I used)
 

Foam roller

(Don't use one with fibers... I'll show you why later)

 

Painter's tape & drop cloth

Chalk & eraser

 

Tape your surface anywhere you do not want paint. Clean your mirror very well and use a microfiber cloth to help grab up any extra linty pieces. Use a foam roller and begin priming your surface. Completely and evenly coat it and let dry. I let mine dry overnight.

 

 

**I used a reguar cheap roller for my primer coat. I wish I had not done that. It resulted in fibers being pulled from the roller and left on the mirror. I didn't really catch it until it was too late and far too bad to pick out individual pieces. Once I added a coat of chalkboard paint I took a very fine grit sand paper and sanded down the rough fibers as much as I could.**

Here you can see the fibers sticking out after a coat of chalkboard paint was applied.

You can see in this image where all the fibers caught the chalk later during the "priming" process. It's not a perfectly flat surface but it still writes very well, just a few little bumps here and there.
 

 

To fix the nasty chip in the mirror I took a quick and simple route of using painter's tape. I took a couple of small pieces and wrapped it around the chip then proceeded to paint over it. You can barely tell on the finished product.

Apply 2 to 3 coats of chalkboard paint according to package instructions, prime the surface with chalk as shown above (I used sidewalk chalk for quick application), erase and you now have a great writing surface!!


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The more I think about it the more excited I am to use the board for school. I can see the sliding doors coming in very handy for hiding subjects, revealing one letter, number or word at a time during different learning activities... yay!
 

 

Future Front Door: Faux Wood Stain?!

I think I have discovered the coolest thing since sliced bread... OK maybe not THAT cool, but this is still incredibly awesome. 

We have an awful front door. Replacing it isn't in the budget, and while I'm thankful for the door we have because it does keep the weirdos out, it's like an apartment door or something. No window, completely plain from the inside with just a peep hole. It has trim on the outside to give it the paneled look but that's about it. 

White. 

With finger smudges. 

And Crayon marks.

Well, thanks to Rachael over at Lovely Crafty Home I now have a solution for my ugly door!  

Check.THIS.Out!

Gel Stain?! Never heard of it! Minwax was cool when I found out about Polycrylic but now this!! Oooh Minwax, I love you and can't wait to try out your Gel Stain :) 

Here is another great link I found that includes a YouTube video on the technique of making it actually look like wood grain. Thanks, Monique! Door update Faux Finish: From Steel to Wood