Thursday, June 25, 2009

Chalk Board Party & Chalkboard Give Away!

It's been six days since I finished the chalkboard refrigerator and I thought I would do an update for the Chalkboard Party at The Shabby Chic Cottage. Then as luck would have it, I was contacted by Suzanne from Living Rooms Direct about doing a give away! I decided to choose some fun chalkboard related prizes in keeping with the theme. More about that at the end.

Here is my chalkboard fridge!



1. We love it! Both Cliff and I are so glad that the wallpaper is gone and love the dark color. Since our kitchen is open to our living room it is important to us that it look nice.

2. Suddenly, that hunk 'o junk refrigerator we hated is making the rest of the room look really dated. Unfortunately, as renters, there is only so much we can do about the '80's cabinetry.

3. The refrigerator has a "leather" type texture and even with 3 coats of primer and 3 coats of chalk board paint, it still has that texture. So, there is some dust involved in writing. I don't imagine using it as a chalkboard daily. I think I will update it monthly.

4. There is a bit of upkeep. Already we can see how fingerprints and grease spatters show up really well. You can not just chalk over the grease, but it did come right off with a Mr. Clean Sponge. Extra erasing eliminates finger prints. I use a micro fiber towel from the automotive section as an eraser. It works really well.

5. **On a side note, I washed a Mr. Clean Sponge by accident and it came out of the dryer like brand new!! That was such a happy accident! I don't think I will try to wash it twice for fear of disintegration, but I sure was pleased to recycle it once!

6. I only painted the two sides that show. It took all day because I needed to let it dry between coats of paint, however each coat only took minutes to apply with a foam roller. I used low VOC paint and the chalkboard paint was pretty low VOC as well. I have almost a full can left over for other projects, but I can foresee wanting to freshen up the paint once a year.

OK, how about a fun chalkboard give away!

Living rooms direct sells all kinds of beautiful living room furniture and accessories. (I was especially impressed because they have a whole apartment living section!) I have selected three potential prizes. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me which prize you would like and I will select one winner next Friday.


First up, Apertif & Boissons 9.5" porcelain chalkboard. This would pretty up any kitchen counter.
Next, this is the Wall Candy Arts RoCoco Chalkboard Removable Wall Decal. I can think of so many fun applications for this. I would put it in a guest room with a welcome note to the guest on it.

Finally, I like the clean lines of this modern notNeutral Light Blue (comes in green and orange too) Chalk board panel. This is fresh and sleek.

Thanks Suzanne for offering such fun prizes!

Now, I am off to The Shabby Chic Cottage to get more ideas for my leftover paint!
And, for more fun, check out Hooked on Houses for some Friday fun and another giveaway!

31 comments:

Mandie said...

Ooh! I like the notNeutral Chalk board panel!

Lynnelle said...

Oh, I like them all, but I think it's the mood I'm in..your site and several blogs you link too have inspired me to work on a few things around my house. I like the Wall Candy Arts RoCoco Chalkboard Removable Wall Decal.

Pam said...

Oh. My. Gosh! Your refrigerator is AWESOME!!! I'm in awe that you took that risk!!! My chalkboard would love this! Thanks so much for sharing.

I'd have to say I like the Wall Candy Arts RoCoco Chalkboard Removable Wall Decal.

Unknown said...

Chalkboad Wall Decal is awesome. Oh and the story about you in your big shirt painting your fridge is a classic. Anyway, thanks for the chance to win!

Nutsy Coco said...

Fun, a giveaway! I like the notNeutral too although they're all cool!

Megan said...

The removable chalkboard decal is fabulous!

Unknown said...

I'm in awe! The chalkboard fridge is such an inventive idea. Love it!

Thanks so much for joining me today.

ThriftyAnnabella said...

Love chalkboards - count me in

Marie said...

I absolutely love your chalkboard refrigerator! What a clever idea and very unique! I might have to convince hubby to do that on ours. Thank you for the great inspiration. And what a great giveaway too! I especially like the wall decal.

Blessings,
Marie
http://emmacallsmemama.com

Unknown said...

Wow, that chalkboard fridge is quite a space saver, isn't it? No wall space taken up there!

I like the porcelain chalkboard in the first giveaway photo! Wow! A giveaway! I LOVE giveaways! That is sweet of you to have a giveaway! :)

Jen B said...

Your chalkboard refrigerator is such a great way to add personality to your kitchen! So fun!

Moore Minutes said...

The Wall Art Rococo is unique and fun, so that is my FAVorite! :) I am entirely impressed with your fridge! I've never heard of that before and it looks like so much fun to leave creative messages on. Great job, thanks also for the review on the final product, I thought it was interesting.

Roeshel said...

Your fridge is awesome! (But you already new I felt that way! lol)

What a great and generous giveaway! My favorite is the Wall Candy Arts RoCoco Chalkboard Removable Wall Decal.

Have a great weekend!

Unknown said...

Love those items, and your chalkboard fridge looks great.

Anonymous said...

What a creative idea! You certainly were thinking out of the crayon box!

Jen said...

I love your blog, fun ideas.

Anonymous said...

I love the decal Wall Candy Arts RoCoco Chalkboard Removable Wall Decal.

I would stick it to the outside of our apartment door to say, "Stop! Family Quiet Time!"

We live on the campus of a seminary with 25 other families...sometimes our community is a little too calose. This would definitely help us get some peace!

Thanks for the offer!

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Your fridge looks really neat. What an interesting idea!

The Woman Undone said...

ENABLER ALERT: Did you know that chalkboard paint comes in many other colors??!!!! I was in JoAnn's and saw red, white, green, purple, royal blue and yellow chalk board paint!!! How cool is that...only downside is the jars are only a few ounces(maybe 8 oz??)

Kristin - The Goat said...

Great job on the fridge. It looks like it's going to be a great conversational piece and fun to use.

The chalkboard giveaway looks interesting! Hmmmm, I like the last one best. :)

beagoodmom said...

We have (had) those same kitchen cabinets...and a chalkboard door that leads to our garage! We painted our 80's cabinets and added 8 inch long brushed nickel handles from IKEA. It really modernized the room. Cabinets took 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of white paint, right on top of the both "wood trim" and the white melamine. worked like a charm. The handles were like $6 for a 2 pack. My husband said it was easy to put them on, as long as he drilled pilot holes and went slow so the melamine did not chip. Best thing we ever did to the kitchen.

The Amusing Redhead said...

love them all! I love the decal the best :-)
Thanks!

Kari

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

I adore all of your chalkboards! What creativity! Fabulous!
Thakn you also for taking the time to stop by my blog! So kind! I love new friends!

kirwin @ graceful creative said...

Your chalboard fridge is so cool! I've been wanting to do a project with the cb paint for quite a while now.

{thanks for visiting my blog!}

Mama Said Sew said...

The fridge looks wonderful Jane! We used chalkboard paint for the top of my son's train table. It's great stuff.

And I do love a giveaway....the clean lines and color choices of the notNeutral chalk board get my vote.

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say thanks for stopping by my blog during the chalkboard party. I was out of town. I'm just now getting around to returning all the sweet comments. Your refrigerator turned out great. Love it! Hope you are having a good week.

KBelle said...

I just found your blog & I really enjoyed your great ideas. I love the porcelain chalkboard. Thanks for a great giveaway!

Nancy @ Live love laugh said...

Oh, I love the Apertif & Boissons 9.5" porcelain chalkboard. I have a giant chalkboard from my childhood in the basement, but could really use one in the kitchen! I think it is pretty "green" to use chalkboard.
~Nancy
Just found your blog and love it

Just Me said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stacy, NJ said...

While I am not brave enough to paint my fridge...I do have a VERY EMPTY kitchen wall calling out for some fun...I love the decal Wall Candy Arts RoCoco Chalkboard Removable Wall Decal.
You're an inspiration!!

Charlene said...

I like choice #3 - the notNeutral chalkboard - clean lines speak to my soul!

I'm thinking maybe a chalkboard on the pantry door might help us with shopping lists??? One could hope putting something ON THE DOOR would remind others to list if we're out of something...