Removable Chalkboard

I know that chalkboards have been done over and over again, but I didn't jump on the bandwagon until now. I'm not really sure why I waited so long because I love it!! At the end of a row of cabinets in the kitchen, there is an empty wall and I knew it was a perfect place to have one. Our cabinets are laminate (boo) so I wasn't sure how well chalkboard paint would work and I also wasn't sure how the hubby would like it (he does!) so I wanted something that would work on laminate and could be easily removed in case he hated it. I then stumbled upon a post on Irma's blog where she used chalkboard contact paper - brilliant!

I went right to amazon.com and ordered a roll for myself.

My cabinet width was 24" and the contact paper is 18" so I measured 3" on each side (24-18=6/2=3) to center the roll. I also cut it to 30" tall and eyeballed how high I wanted it to go.

I carefully peeled off a few inches from the top and placed it down.

Then, unpeeling a few inches of the backing at a time, I carefully smoothed all the bubbles out. I first tried using a credit card, but I found it made tiny little nicks so I just used my hand.

After it's up, you have to prime the chalkboard by rubbing a piece of chalk on its side across the entire surface. Erase the chalk and then it's ready to use.

To dress it up a little, I wanted to put a frame of moulding around it. I took a picture on my phone of the moulding around the doorway of the kitchen so I could find something similar at Lowes. I came home with a pre-primed piece that looked great. Even though it was primed already, you should still sand down to make a perfectly smooth surface.

I did a few coats of spray paint before cutting it down and then another couple after to cover up any scratches that occurred while cutting.

I haven't quite gotten over my fear of power tools so I'm still using a miter box, but it really wasn't so bad cutting all the angles. It just took about 200 times longer than if I had a compound miter saw. Oh well...

This vinyl adhesive caulk worked great for attaching all the sides together.

I don't have any clamps either, so some frog tape came in handy keeping the pieces together until it dried. (Just a word of advice - even though it says you can paint after two hours, that doesn't mean it's actually dry after two hours so do yourself a favor and leave it overnight. Just saying.... :-)

My favorite way to temporarily hang something up is by using the amazing Command strips.

Just four sets of these velcro strips and it's not going anywhere!

Make sure to use a level so you know it's straight. And if it's not, it's as easy as pie to adjust it!

Now I've got a great memo board / message spot / menu / shopping list / etc. etc. that the whole family can see when we go in and out of the kitchen! Love it!

Do you also write like a third grader whenever a piece of chalk ends up in your hand, or is it just me?

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