apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

since this is a full feature in Martha Stewart this month, maybe she gets some props too.

How much area is that recipe supposed to cover?

That issue of Martha Stewart Living claims that there is white chalkboard paint.

the issue of Martha stewart doesn't "claim that there is white chalk board paint"--it says to mix the store bought black chalk board paint with homemade white.

I took this idea a step further and primed the wall area with 3 coats of magnetic primer before painting the calendar. Now I have a magnetic chalkboard calendar.

Thank you guys for filling in the missing link on the homemade white chalkboard paint!

Does anyone know where the chain restaurants get their chalks for their chalkboards? I can't seem to find any that are so bright? Thanks so much!

i am the editor at martha stewart living who created the chalkboard paint story over the course of last winter and spring which is now in the january 07 issue on newsstands. it has been really well received by many people i know and meet, as well as tons of home and design blogs (which is so exciting for me!) i will be on martha stewart's sirius radio channel 112 on "the magazine hour" friday 01-12-07 around noon. it's my first time on the radio ever, and my first cover story. so call in if you have any questions and make me seem engaging! the # to call is 866-675-6675.

How much area does your chalkboard recipe cover. I need to paint over an existing green chalkboard. Measures 15" x20".
Thanks for your help.
Carilyn

You can buy tintable chalkboard paint at magnamagic.com you can tint it any color you wish You can also buy the magnetic paint and paint it on first to have a magnetic chalkboard wall it looks great tinted

I tried to make this paint in dark blue in a larger quantity. The paint seem to be very lumpy once I added the grout therefore it was not easy to apply. The paint also became thick very quickly. Has anyone else tried doing this. I would love to have the look but am not having much luck making the paint. Would love to hear any suggestions!

Does anyone know if you can get a nice smooth finish using a roller to apply chalkboard paint? My finish looks kind of textured. The man at the paint store said it is orange peel. I've read about many people applying it to walls with a roller and they say they love it. I wouldn't be happy with a wall that looks like my finished product. I am trying to make 2'X2' chalkboards. I started with masonite, but I finally found 2'X4' chalkboard material. The only problem is it is green and I need black. So, the man at the paint store said just paint them with the black - sounds easy enough. But no such luck. I've followed every tip I've been told - make sure you start with a clean, smooth surface, don't shake the paint, stir it for 5 minutes, don't press hard, let the roller do the work, use the right kind of roller, etc. I have tried different brands of paint, different rollers (1/4" nap for ultra smooth finish, foam) Oh, and some of the rollers I bought were not cheap.
I am on my third can of paint, so this is getting a bit expensive (for a so called cheap project). And I want to make several. I won't use spay paint without a paint booth, so that is out. I'm really not good at using a brush, but I thought a roller would be a cinch.
I am open to suggestions. At this point I am ready to cry, but I AM DETERMINED NOT TO GIVE UP.
Thanks in advance for any help!

I have been looking at chalkboard paint and I have to say I am so excited I found this it will save so much money.

As for the texture thing while I was looking at the Martha version it says to sand it with 150-grit sandpaper, and wipe off dust. Hope that helps :)

I did this over the weekend. It's really cool. I missed the part about white chalk board paint, and I just used white paint mixed with black chalk board paint — it worked fine.

Also, I started with the black paint, then added 1/2 cup of white, then another 1/2 cup, then another - it gave me four shades of gray without having to do the ratio thing as described in the artice.

I did the magnetic thing too.

I love chalkboard paint! It's the easiest and most affordable way to decorate a room! You can actually purchase premade color chalkboard paints now - they come in 10 different colors and are SO easy to use! You can see them at www.tilanofresco.com

Gina - I think that the restaurants use chalk marker. I've seen them at craft store and it says on their packaging that store and restaurants use them for vibrant color.

The chalk markers are awesome! Harder to erase and they dry so you can't 'blend' as easily (if you're making art) but still... nice and bold.

I recently found a different Martha Steward entry on how to make chalkboard paint:

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/make-custom-color-chalkboard-paint

it uses unsanded tile grout plus any flat latex paint, so it sounds simpler. Also appealing is the fact that the recipe starts with 1c paint.... larger qtys than the above recipe. Any thoughts (randi?) on which recipe yields a better surface? Cuz of course that's the important thing.

"Does anyone know where the chain restaurants get their chalks for their chalkboards?"

It's not chalk. Those are pre-PAINTED boards. It only looks like chalk for the cute factor.

Kookieann, you're going to have to sand it to get a really smooth finish. But I use a very fine sandpaper, anywhere from 400 to 600 grit. You can get it at the hardware store; it's black, not tan.

This is how I get a smooth paint finish: paint with a flat foam pad - pour a little paint on your surface and spread it with the foam pad - you'll figure out how much to pour as you go, maybe try it on a scrap board first.

When it's dry, wet-sand it with a very fine sandpaper, anywhere from 400 to 600 grit. The paper is black, not tan; every hardware store carries it. I tear the paper into smaller pieces that I can easily manage in one hand, dip the paper in a bowl of water, and sand carefully with my fingers flat - not my fingertips. You can use a sanding block, too, to make sure even pressure is being applied.

You'll want to do at least two coats, maybe three. But it will come out silky-smooth.

Rustoleum makes a chalkboard paint in which you can choose from 12 different colors; no more "just green and black" at all.

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=168

Is there chalk that doesn't have too much dust? Where to buy?

also when I worked at a bar we used to wet the chalk before writing to make the color more vibrant

ALERT! I use chalk on a wall in my kitchen that isn't smooth and is neither flat nor chalkboard paint. It's just dark semi-gloss. I'd been procrastinating on a chalkboard project because I don't have any unsanded grout. I have a small chalkboard so I have chalk and I tried it on a dark wall of semi-gloss in the kitchen and it worked fine! I just use it for grocery lists and phone numbers so I guess if one was an artist one might want something else, but if I smoothed out the brush strokes with sand paper I suspect it would work just fine for any purpose.

Just tried wetting the end of my cheapo chalk and that makes it MUCH easier to write.

Is it strange to be so excited about such things?

I bought my colored chalkboard paint at www.tilano.net . They have 10 different colors and it works just like real paint. I have tried making it, but it just didn't work that well.

great colors, all set: http://www.hudsonpaint.com/