Free at St. Vinny's {DIY Chalkboards}

The other day I stopped in to Saint Vincent De Paul's Thrift Shop.  There were twelve (yes, I counted) bins, all half full of "junk".  I like junk.  Alot.  Except someone must have thought it would be funny to open the adult diapers and put them in each one of the containers.  Anyways, I hardly even noticed.  But after throwing aside the tenth one, I clued in as to what I was moving.  Nice. There was an 8x10 canvas painting that looked like a kid had tried his hand at.  I grabbed it and went inside.  "Are the containers outside donations or is that free stuff for scroungers like me?"  "It's free.  Take what you want."  Yes!!!  The answer I was hoping for!  I spent more time digging through those than I did in the actual shop!  Even got a huge  Nerf gun in perfect condition for the boys kids!  But this post is about chalkboards.  And see those water-spotted, out-of-date framed wall decor above?  Yup, rescued those out of the "junk". :)

After spray painting each frame a fun, springy color, 

I used my DIY chalkboard paint recipe:

Stir 2 Tbls (or a little more) in to 1 cup of paint (any color!).
Lightly sand after the first coat is dry, and then add a second coat.  Lightly sand again and then lay a piece of chalk down and rub over the entire chalk board.  It "seasons" it, much like a pizza stone needs to be seasoned...  sure wish I had one!

Oh, and it only took two coats for these because it was on a cardboard material.  If you're covering glass, it usually takes three coats.

 I found some really thick jute rope I had on hand and stapled gunned it to the back. 

 Done shhhmun!

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