Home-made chalk board...on a tight budget

Details: Published on Thursday, 25 March 2010 16:16

Many of us are struggling right now with the economy. Our children don't need to go without, though! Where there's a will there's a way, right? That's one of the most amazing things about our nation: we are innovative. When times are tough we come up with new ways to make ends meet (or perhaps we go back to using old ways).

Why do I love twitter? Let me count the ways...One of my favorite things about twitter is the fact that it's a never ending information highway. I tweeted, asking about ideas for creating a chalk board for my wall. I want an eye-level board that my kids can color on. This will offer a sense of age-appropriate control combined with the concepts of a literacy and writing tool. Numerous people tweeted back, giving me ideas.

Once upon a time I may have purchased a big fancy pre-made chalk board to put on the wall (convenient!). With leaner times at hand, however, this gives us the opportunity to explore other options like creating our own board - and that's just what we did.

We headed to Home Depot and quickly found a piece of wood in the clearance section for just over 4 bucks (whoo hoo!). The size and shape were perfect.

We sanded down the sides in order to remove the splinters.

We painted the board with chalk board paint, purchased at Home Depot. I compared prices online; Home Depot was more affordable.

We covered the wood in the chalk board paint - three coats.

Here is the finished product. Our very own, highly affordable in-home chalk board! Tomorrow we will attach the board to the wall at eye level so the kids can color and write, as wanted.

ABOUT the Author:

Shara Lawrence-Weiss is the owner of Mommy Perks, Kid Perks and Personal Child Stories. She has a background in early childhood, nanny work, published freelance, marketing and special needs.

Comments

#5 TJ 2013-04-24 06:04

Suzanne - we did the same thing in our kitchen, but we also took a small plastic cup of some sort and bought some adhesive velcro strips to apply to the cup and to the wall to create the chalk holder. My little girl LOVES it!

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#4 Shara - owner 2013-01-09 12:10

Yes - they love it. We have used it for years now! You are welcome to share about this on your blog. Thanks for asking!

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#3 dad of 2 kids learni 2013-01-09 09:45

That is wonderful. Great job, how are they enjoying it? Is it okay if I share your story on my blog?

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#2 Suzanne 2010-03-29 07:01

This is a wonderful idea! We did it in our house but painted right onto the wall, then framed it out with wood trim. It looks great and our boys have enjoyed it for years! :-)