WHOO says you gotta throw out that 70's decor stored in your attic?

While I was thrift-store hunting I spied an old piece of wall art that gave me a flash-back of my childhood home's shag carpeting and a pink velour love seat - both which my mother treated like a fragile butterfly. Seriously - my brother and I were not even allowed to sit on that ugly pink thing, or walk on the rust-colored rug. "It was just for looking pretty," she would insist.

And so when I saw this owl wall art, I thought, "who would buy this, it's so outdated." And let's face it, these birds are a bit scary-looking. That's probably why it was priced at $2.00. Heck, I've seen these things at garage sales for a quarter.

And then it hit me - let's turn this into a chalkboard! And that's exactly what I did...

I went to my local Benjamin Moore shop and got a quart of chalkboard paint (this is latex paint). I SHOULD have bought a nylon paintbrush, but instead used one of my natural bristle brushes that I use for my Annie Sloan paint. You can see why I should have used the nylon. Lots of stroke marks on the chalkboard, instead of a nice smooth surface. Oh well - live and learn. I plan to do another chalkboard for my hubby's basement so he can keep track of the winning billiard teams. So, I'll count this attempt as a dry run, and not fret over it too much.

Here's the steps to making this chalk board:

1) I taped off the wood frame (the part in Provence blue now)

2) I painted on 2 coats of the chalkboard paint in the center

3) The next day I removed the blue tape from the frame and then taped the edges of the chalkboard, so I could paint the frame, without getting blue on the black chalkboard surface.

4) I painted the frame with 2 coats of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence. After it dried, I clear-waxed the frame. Then I lightly distressed with a wet sanding sponge. Finally, I used a little dark wax here and there to give it an aged look.

5) I purchased a cup drawer pull from Lowe's to make the chalk holder you see at the bottom. I painted it with the Provence, and waxed it just like I did on the frame.

6) Then I lined up where I wanted the chalk holder, made little pencil marks on the front, and used a drill to create holes. I pushed the screws through from the back, and used a screwdriver to attach the chalk holder.

And there ya have it! Spooky retro owls turned into a place to root on the American athletes! Or a place to write my grocery list. Or keep track of Saxon's chores. Or just say welcome home.