Chalkboard Activity Book-Great DiY Gift For Kids

Today, we are taking a break from Wellness Wednesday and I am going to share a fun little DiY with you instead!
Truth be told, we are going on 2 weeks now of sickness in our home so my ability to really think through information to accurately give you on health and such is a bit compromised due to lack of sleep! However, I will be sharing our daily regime when we are sick and a great recipe with you next Wednesday, so come back!

For now, let's talk Chalkboard Paint! I LOVE this stuff! Seriously, if I don't watch myself, I could very easily get carried away with this pure awesomeness!
We have a chalkboard in our dining room, a few painted and soon to be hung in the living room, and a big thick chalkboard stripe painted on my boy's walls, going all around the room. Yet, I still want more!

Okay, so I made these fun little books for Christmas books last year. Right now, is the prefect weather to paint these; low humidity and not yet too cold to dry well.
Do NOT wait till it is too cold outside to decide you want to make these for gifts.  I made this mistake last year and ended up in my grandmother's garage with space heaters and a blow dryer! I know, ridiculous! But I was determined to make these.

What you need for the book:
Old board book or book from the Dollar Store
Primer Spray Paint
Chalkboard Spray Paint
White or Silver Sharpie

What you need for the eraser and chalk bag:
Couple sheets of felt
Ribbon
Chalk







After having done this the wrong way, I can now share with you what NOT to do.
First, like I mentioned above, do NOT wait until it is too cold outside to paint these.
Secondly, I found that larger books with less pages work best. They have larger pages leaving more space to draw and less pages means less painting!

You'll paint each paint with primer and allow to completely dry.
Then, you'll paint each page with chalkboard paint, allowing to completely dry and cure for 24-36 hours before writing on it with the Sharpie or chalk.
Once your book is dry, you will prep each page for writing. You do this by simply running a piece of chalk over the entire chalkboard area and then erasing it.

A little tic tac toe action!

And, some Hangman! Do you remember this? I used to love to play hangman during class when I should have been listening to my teacher!

Draw some clothes and dress this guy please! And create a funny face too.


As you will notice here on this page, I had some drying issues with a few of my pages.  Ya know, since it was like winter outside and I was trying to hand dry each page with a blow dryer!

Some empty pages to draw whatever their creative minds desire and why not throw some dot to dot fun in there too!







I completed the gift by making some littler erasers out of felt and a little felt bag to hold the chalk and erasers.  The erasers are super easy.
You simply cut your pieces of felt, to whatever size you want your eraser to be. You will want to cut about 5 of these in the same shape. Stack your felt pieces and then run it through your sewing machine, stitching around the edges.
The bag is a basic draw string bag design. Fold your piece of felt in half and then cut down to the size you want your bag to be. Fold over about an inch on the end of each side (will be the top of the bag). Sew across the top of each side, making a tube all the way around to run your ribbon through. Then you will sew the sides, only up to the bottom of your opening for the ribbon.

Now, go to Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot......and buy your paint! Let me know how your books turn out. Or if you have a fun chalkboard project that you have posted about, leave us a comment with your blog link too.
Inspiration for this DiY-
Chalkboard Book

And speaking of fun chalkboard projects, check this out if you are local.

Daspri and I are teaming up with the wonderful ladies at Branch Out Paint Bar & Boutique and teaching a fun new class, Dames of DiY!  Check out their FB page for more info and get signed up today! This class is coming up soon, Oct 2nd at 7pm!

Have a great day!
-Jenny