More Fun Chalkboard Paint Ideas

In our last post on chalkboard paint, we explored three fun ways to create a chalkboard in places you may never have expected, including a door, dining room table, and clay pots. We thought those ideas were great, but there are a ton more out there! So we’re happy to bring you three more ideas for using chalkboard paint in clever ways, courtesy of some really creative bloggers and websites.

Chalkboard Pumpkins

I stumbled upon this idea from Jennifer at The Old Painted Cottage while browsing Pinterest a little while ago, and I thought it was fantastic! In preparation for Halloween a few years ago, Jennifer created chalkboard pumpkins with three plain orange pumpkins and a can of chalkboard spray paint. She completely covered the pumpkins in paint, allowed them to dry, and then wrote on them with ordinary chalk. Easy peasy!

Though she wrote “Trick Or Treat” on her three pumpkins for Halloween, you could very easily repurpose these pumpkins for Thanksgiving by erasing the original message and switching to something like “Give Thanks.” Pumpkins are great for fall décor in general, not just one holiday, so why not try to make them last the whole season?

One thing to keep in mind here: if you use a real pumpkin for this project, it will eventually spoil and need to be thrown out. To make your chalkboard pumpkin last longer, handle it carefully and store it in a cool place when not on display. Or maybe you’d just like to consider a more permanent piece of chalkboard décor instead...

Chalkboard Fridge

Ashley of The Handmade Home is one ambitious woman. Just looking at her post about painting her refrigerator with chalkboard paint made me anxious! As she began her long journey to redo her kitchen, Ashley started with something ”small”: her fridge.

After taping up the handles, the fridge was first covered with several coats of magnetic primer (to keep magnets still sticking to the surface, something that would have otherwise been lose beneath the chalkboard paint). After the primer was completed, Ashley followed up with multiple coats of chalkboard paint. The fridge dried overnight, and then...

I have to admit that the finished product makes me want to get over my anxiety and bust out some chalkboard paint myself. How neat is that?! The idea of being able to write shopping lists, meal plans, or notes right on your refrigerator door is really cool. Ashley also doodled some pretty flowers on hers, which makes me wonder if this would be a good way to give kids a special place to draw or leave notes to their parents.

A painted appliance is pretty permanent, though, and I know some of you can’t put chalkboard paint on anything without risking the wrath of your landlord (I feel you!). So our third idea should lie somewhere in the middle, for those of you who favor temporary—but not disposable—decorating options.

A Chalkboard … Board

Simple, right? Casa Sugar’s post on a freestanding chalkboard as a piece of décor really resonated with me. This suggestion would work well for anyone who can’t or won’t paint a chalkboard wall (or door, or appliance) but still wants a big, erasable message board or statement piece. They also mention that it’s a good temporary solution, if you’re convinced that you’ll get tired of it in a few months.

Creating this look is easier than you might think: grab a piece of plywood in the size of your choice and cover it with a few coats of chalkboard paint until you have your desired thickness. Let it dry, cure it (rub chalk across the surface, then wipe it off), and… voila! You’ve got a free-standing chalkboard. You could easily mount a board like this on a wall, the back of a door, etc., or just allow it to stand propped up against your wall as an interactive piece of décor.

One final thing to consider: Casa Sugar suggests trying this out with an old door, which will give you a nice weathered, rustic look (and also keep you from needing to worry about painting those thin edges of the plywood). Actually, there are a lot of things you could make new again with a coat of chalkboard paint...

What do you think about these three ideas? Have you been inspired to convert anything in your home into a chalkboard? For more creative chalkboard projects, be sure to follow our Chalk It Up! board on Pinterest, where I’ll be continuing to pin my favorite chalkboard ideas from around the internet. See you there!