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Monday, September 26, 2011

Chalk-It-Up

This past weekend I was just itching for something creative to do. I needed a break from sweets after last week's cupcakery, so I thought something a little craftier might do. I'll admit I was a bit stuck until our visit to The Container Store. We went for the sole purpose of browsing, knowing we'd find something to make life a little neater around the house. As soon as we heard these little guys just screaming our names:


I'm a sucker for these things and I couldn't resist them at these prices. They warm my heart mostly because my grandparents used to keep candy in jars like these when I was growing up. Chocolate-filled Caramel Nips anyone? I also love how well these jars seal. My boyfriend and I both agreed they'd be perfect for storing flour and sugar.

For some reason I always loved that my mom had two special containers set aside specifically for these baking items. I didn't love that I could never seem to remember which was which without having to open the jar. The perfect solution at hand was to use chalkboard paint to put a patch on each jar where I could write its contents. I figured the chalk offered a great solution in case I later change my mind and want to use them for something else (cotton balls, clothes pins, craft supplies, so many options!). I already had all of the other supplies I'd need so it seemed like a winner of an idea. Here are the basics that I used:


My first step was to use the masking tape to tape off the area that I wanted to have the chalkboard finish. I considered doing a cute design on the corners or the top, but thought it might be too country for our taste, so I opted for something simple instead. There were no precise measurements, I just freehanded the tape, peeling it off and sticking it back on if it didn't look right.


The top curve of the glass created a nice arch in the tape and I felt ready to go! I happened to have a bottle of cheap chalkboard paint from the craft store lying around, but something more heavy duty from the home improvement aisle might be a better option if you're buying new. The directions in the bottle recommended two even coats with an hour of dry time in between and 24 hours to cure after all coats were on. After I started my first coat it was clear I was going to need a few more coats.


I think it's just because I was painting it on glass, but the thin coats worked to my advantage seeing as I'm not patient enough to wait an hour between coats. I continued with coats like this, setting them outside in the sun for about 15 minutes and then put the next one on. The end product required somewhere between 6-7 of those super thin coats. Once the last one went on I used my X-acto knife to score along the tape line and peeled it up right away. There's that lack of patience again!


After that grueling 24-hour curing process I lightly rubbed a little chalk dust on them as per the directions and wrote to my little heart's content. After this I decided it might be a good idea to seal things up to make sure nothing would scrape or peel off the jars. I had some Krylon sealer in the house in a clear, satin finish and it did the trick. Be sure to tape another border around your chalkboard so you don't ruin the finish on the rest of your jar. You can see a bit of the border I left in my final picture on the flour jar. I then excitedly ran to the kitchen to fill the little guys only to realize we were out of flour. But there was sugar, so I was still happy, and got this for my final product:


I'm so happy with how they turned out! I hope this inspired you to do something to make storage a little more fun. Happy chalking!

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