DIYin' It

Project #2. A little something for Evan to encourage his creative side. We would consider a squiggle mark on the chalk board art at this point, but who knows, maybe our encouragement will produce an artist or at least an appreciation for the subject.

My inspiration for this project stemmed from the hundreds of blogs I read raving about chalk board paint. And let me tell you, the rave is absolutely justified. Chalk board paint is the cat's meow. It is so easy to apply and almost magical the way it quickly transforms from a liquid paint to a hard slate-like material. I'm a big fan.

We've had a tv stand in storage for several years now. It's a nice solid piece of furniture that Robert's step-dad, Phil, built over a decade ago. Being in the age of wide screen and flat panel televisions, this tv stand just wasn't functional anymore. But I was determined to find a use for it. *ding, ding, ding* Chalk board paint + tv stand = chalk board/storage unit. I simply painted the tv stand and attached a piece of particle board to the front of the unit that was painted with the chalk board paint. I framed the board with wood pieces that I painted and added the car decorations (that I also painted) to fuel Evan's obsession with all things on wheels. I left the back open because the unit itself is on wheels and can be swiveled. I use that space for storage in addition to the shelf and the drawer.

I was happy with the result. Evan immediately wanted to rip the car decor off the front and take them for a spin...many thanks to Gorilla Glue.

BEFORE

AFTER