November Learning Intermission-- An "Upcycled" Craft!

I'm taking a quick intermission from all my serious "techy" November Learning knowledge to share with you my quick D.I.Y. Summer Project #2- an "upcycled" chalkboard!

How many times do we see super cheap (or even FREE) older chalkboards at garage sales, thrift stores, or even lying out in the hallways from other teachers?!  But, I'll have to admit, most times they do look pretty "crusty".  (Haha, I just HAD to interject that word...one of my teammates uses it ALL the time, and it always cracks me up!)  So, anyways, why buy a new one (and send the old one to the landfull!) when you can "upcycle"!!!

Here's how!  For this project, you will need:

-1 old, "crusty" chalkboard  (any size)
-felt (any color)
-ribbon (any color)
-hot glue gun
-chalkboard paint (I prefer mine in a spray can...you can get it on Amazon.)

Okay, so now that you have all your supplies, you can begin!  My old chalkboard started out like this:

Now, on to the process!

STEP ONE:  Clean your board really well.  I used a damp paper towel, then went back over it again with Windex.  Don't forget all the edges, because you may want to paint that, too! 

STEP TWO:  Set up a workspace to spraypaint in!  I lay down papers in my garage and put up anything important I don't want "overspray" on. 

STEP THREE:  Lay down your board and put your first coat of paint on!  Here's what my "step three" looks like:

STEP FOUR:  Let your first coat dry and apply a 2nd coat.  Let this dry completely and see how it looks.  You may need a 3rd coat, depending on how sad your board was before.  :)

STEP FIVE:  Let all your paint dry overnight.  Yes, I know the can says "dries in 30 minutes!" buuut its better to be safe than sorry!

STEP SIX:  Plug in your glue gun, and glue your ribbon around the edges of your board.  Don't worry about the corners being perfect, because we will cover those up later on!

STEP SEVEN:  Create some felt flowers, and glue them on the corners!  Don't throw away your scraps, because you can even make some cute, baby flowers to go on there, too!

STEP EIGHT:  Hang and enjoy! :)

Don't you just adore it?  And what a quick and easy project!  I can't wait to hang mine up to use!

*UPDATE:  I've added this fun D.I.Y. to sweet Tara's "Monday Made-It" Linky Party (even though it's Wednesday...)!  Click on over to her blog to see TONS more fun ideas to make!  :)

I'll be back tomorrow with more "high-tech" learning tid-bits from my workshop last week.  But until then, Happy Wednesday!