Something for almost nothing

When we renovated the kitchen we installed new cabinets. One of the cabinet doors had a funky finish flaw in it. When the pot lights were on in the evening you could see a ripple in the finish that made it look like a zebra skin. During the day you did not notice it but at night I could not overlook it and had to fix it. It was a simple phone call....in theory. I talked to a representative that really didn't listen and I kinda felt like I wasn't going to get what I needed. Sure enough, a week or so later my new door arrived but it was the wrong size. Another call and another door arrived.....and fit.

I was left with two doors. The company wanted neither of them back. Mr. wanted to toss them but not me, no sir! I had plans.  I thought they would make lovely chalk boards. I taped off the inside the panel and applied the chalk paint. It took two coats of paint. I painted the first coat in one direction and the second coat I painted perpendicular to the first coat. Now, this is where I know better but, well, oh! I know! I left the tape on and didn't take it off when I was done painting and a few days later when I got back to it the tape took what should have been nice pretty edges and ripped jagged edges. Ugh. Walk away.

Remove the tape before the paint completely dries! 

That took the wind out of may sails. Fast forward six months later. I came up with a fix. (That did not take six months but the desire to come back to the project did.) I had some copper tape that I had used in a project we did for art in school. The kids had made stained glass panels and we taped the edges of the glass to make them safe.

I cut the top and bottom straight then mitered the side strips, overlapping the the corners.

I used the tape to frame out the chalk paint. It covered the jagged edges and added a nice finishing tough. I used a brayer to help adhere it well. Be careful because the edges can be sharp. Afterwards I used a spoon to burnish fit onto the board.

Some clean up is still needed-see the chalk paint outside the tape?

If you are going to make a chalkboard be sure to rub your chalkboard down with a stick of chalk and then erase off. This primes your board so that the first thing you write on the board doesn't end up being there forever. After that- go wild!

I added a knob to hang my chalk from.

The doors were free. I had the chalk paint and the copper tape. The only thing this cost me was some time! The plan is to sell them because I have my eye on a paint sprayer.......

Link parties I am joining:

Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Showoff, Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, Your Home Based Mom, Huckleberry Love, Creatively Living, Coastal Charm, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Flamingo Toes, Skip To My Lou, Cupcakes and Crinoline, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Grace Langdon Art, A Stroll Thru Life, Our Home Away From Home, Cozy Little House, A Bowl Full of Lemons, DIY Dreamer, Karen's Up On The Hill, Pieced Pastimes, Savvy Southern Style, The Turquoise Home, The Dedicated House, The Style Sisters, DIY by Design, Lamberts Lately, Imparting Grace,Common Ground, All Things Heart and Home, My Repurposed Life, French Country Cottage, The Shabby Nest, Craft Dictator, Just Us Four, The DIY Village,By Stephanie Lynn