Please forgive my absence over the past few months... Life has been taking me down crazy lane as I've been dealing with my husband's current deployment while at the same time taking care of our 18 month old little girl alone. Traveling had taken me towards family for a while, but at the same time separated me from my practically unlimited supply of craft goodies I have laying around in bins and boxes and closets and tables... (Hmmm... perhaps I need to go over Diana's post here one more time in order to get some organization in my home!)
... But I'm back! Let's get crafting!
My daughter was introduced to my childhood chalkboard while visiting my parents a couple months ago. She LOVED it. Honest to goodness, we one day spent like 2 straight hours chalking away... And believe me. The fact that her attention was hooked on one thing for that long was huge! She's not one to sit still for very long, watch TV, or even play with the same thing for more than 5-10 minutes at a time, let alone 2 straight hours! That being said, I had to make her a chalkboard of her own!!
After racking my brain for a while, I decided to make her one using a clipboard so we could take it with us on our adventures. At the same time, it could also be used just as a clipboard if we wanted to clip some paper to it for coloring.
For the basic project, you'll need some chalkboard paint and a clipboard (I'd recommend a cheap masonite one that you could get for about a dollar at office supply stores)... Plastic ones won't work well because the surface is just a little too smooth for the paint to adhere to.
I happened to have chalkboard spray paint, so I used that for mine, but regular chalkboard paint would work equally as well... You'll just need a cheap foam brush to add to your supply list, too.
Make sure you cover the area you are working on, and then follow the directions on the container! Easy as can be. The hard part is waiting for it to dry, right?
Now if you want to just leave it as is, that's totally fine. No judgement! But, we all know I can't do that. So here's what I did for mine...
Since I knew we'd be taking it out and about with us a lot to keep Nadia occupied in places where she can't, well... get into trouble... I decided I'd like to cushion the back just an itty bitty amount so it would feel a little better on her lap.
I grabbed some fabric I had lying around, and using my rotary cutter (obviously, you can just measure and use scissors if you don't have one of these!) I set the clipboard on top of the fabric and simply cut around it...
After I had it cut, it was time to get out the ever so handy glue gun!
I recommend gluing down small sections at a time for accuracy purposes. My fabric was cut just a little larger than the clipboard, but I wanted the edges to line up nicely. So I glued it down in 1 inch sections to keep everything in line.
After I had a couple edges glued down, I used two layers of thin felt to add a small amount of "stuffing." [Note to my husband: See, honey?? I DO make use of all that felt I collected!!! You're proud of me, right? *wink*]
After that, I glued the remaining edges down...
Now for even more fun. This is the best part of crafting... Getting towards the end and adding all the finishing touches!
See? Felt hearts... More felt. I told you.
...Sorry, that was to my husband again. Who says collecting hundreds of sheets of felt is a waste, right? ;)
On the chalkboard side, I also used a paint pen to create a simple border along the edge. I tied some ribbons around the clip, and voila! All finished!
The possibilities for this project are endless... I know I say that a lot, but it's true. You could add a pocket on the back to store the chalk and eraser, too. (I happened to have a cheap binder zipper pouch lying around, so I just decided to use that for storage and just keep it clipped in place when it's not in use.) If you do the painting, I bet older kids would love to do the decorating for their own chalkboards, too. If you make this, please share a photo or your idea with us on our Facebook page. I speak for all three of us when I say that we'd love to see what you came up with!
As always, have fun & happy crafting!
-Marybeth
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