Thursday, October 9, 2008

Blackboard 101


After

Before

Blackboards aren't just for the classroom, they are a great addition to a kitchen, office or kids room....or in this case, a retail shop. If you own a retail boutique, it's a charming (and cheap!) way to advertise a feature item. Find a nice size picture frame (I personally like a frame that has a lot of ornate details), take out the picture if it's still there and paint it the colour you've chosen. I recommend that you use the Aura paint by Benjamin Moore, it can go over anything but washes up with soap and water. It also dries in 1 hour and is low VOC which is safer for your family and the environment. Once you've painted your frame you can get started on the blackboard. Blackboard paint can be bought at just about any hardware store, it is an oil-based product so prepare yourself with gloves and turpentine for cleaning up. Have the hardware store (or yourself, if you're handy) cut a piece of pressboard to fit the shape of your frame. I'm not handy with a saw so we brought the actual picture to the hardware store to give them as a guide for the size of board we needed. Slip the painted blackboard in place and attach it with finishing nails of the back. Voila! a beautiful piece to hang in your boutique or you home!

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