Homemade Chalkboard Paint

I bought the things I needed to make my very own chalkboard paint last weekend and I've been itching to whip me up a batch all week.

All I could think was that if this worked, the world better watch out because I am going to paint EVERYTHING.

Well...it worked! Do you like my tray? I do!

There's a bazillion recipes out there, so if you want to try to make some of your own, just google 'homemade chalkboard paint'. Essentially the recipe is somewhere along the lines of 1 cup of paint to 2 tbsp of unsanded grout. I just eyed it so I can't tell you exactly what I used. It's suppose to be an oatmeal like consistency and it's okay if it has a few lumps although you want to try to get as many out as you can.

  It's super easy and it's super cheap but I have a few pointers if you're going to try it for yourself.

1) Make your paint in very little batches at a time and make sure each layer of paint is completely dry before you add another. It dries quickly but if you don't let it dry completely it will chip and smear.

2) If in doubt about your mixture, I say go a little heavier on the paint side. Otherwise your paint is going to dry out and crack or chip too easily.

3) Use a paint roller over a paint brush. You can buy a trim and touch-up mini-roller with a small tray from Lowes for $1.98. You can't beat it and as long as you rinse out your roller and tray- you can reuse it multiple times.

4) Don't forget to 'season' your board. Just take a piece of chalk and rub it over the entire surface and then just wipe it off with a paper towel or soft rag of some sort.

Otherwise, it's really up to you. You can make your paint in any color and really paint anything you'd like! Use your imagination and go crazy with it.

Total cost for this project?

$1.98 for the roller -which is reuseable - go me!

The paint was something that I had laying around but you can buy a sample of paint out for around $3

$2.00 for the tray at The Christmas Tree Shops 

(You could probably find one cheaper, this one was something that I originally liked BEFORE I painted it, so it was well worth the money to me. I may have to buy another just like it later, haha.)

$1.98 for a small container of unsanded grout.

Chalk - which I had around the house. If you don't have any I'm fairly certain you can buy a package for a dollar or two.

Total cost?  $5.96

Is that awesome or what?