Faux Zinc Painted Chalkboard File Cabinet

This summer I was thrifting with a few friends and stumbled across an ugly cabinet at the Goodwill. The metal chest had extra wide and deep storage, but the worst colors imaginable! The hot pink and mint green were disguising the true potential of the chest, but like a color-blind dog, I was able to see beyond its garish appearance. In my mind, I pictured a vintage metal cabinet with a faux zinc side and chalkboard drawer fronts.

I scooped it up and brought it home. Then the poor chest sat in our garage for months and months until I had a chance to work a little spray paint magic and turned it into….this thing of beauty:

Yes, that is the same chest of drawers! You could do the same transformation.

Materials:

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Instructions:

Clean off the drawers. Remove any dirt or debris (I actually had to use a little Goo Gone to get rid of some sticky residue. But, lemon essential oil will also work for this task.)

Remove the drawers from the chest. Tape over the drawer glides and slides. Mask off the drawer sides and insides by covering the drawers with tape and craft paper, leaving only the drawer fronts exposed.

Spray paint the chest and drawers with automotive primer. (I prefer the automotive primer because it sticks to metal and can withstand a lot of abuse.) Let it dry.

Spray paint the drawers with chalkboard paint. (Use three fine coats of paint instead of one or two heavy coats.) Set them aside to dry.

Adding a Faux Zinc Texture:

This is the most exciting part of the tutorial. I created this technique by trial and error and I’m excited by how well this method works for creating a faux zinc texture.

Getting a faux zinc texture is really easy. Just have some gloves on and use a crumpled up piece of craft paper. (A loose crumple works best.)

Spray paint the chest with a thick coat of the hammered silver spray paint, (but not so thick that it runs). Let the paint get tacky by waiting a few seconds. Then use the crumpled piece of craft paper to blot into the wet paint.

Work in small 1 foot sections and pounce the paper a few times. (Too much pouncing and you’ll lose the large textured pattern.)

Let the cabinet dry thoroughly.

Insert the chalkboard drawers back into the cabinet frame.

Add chalkboard art to your drawer fronts.

This metal chest of drawers is the perfect size for my large tablets of art paper.

The cabinet has a wonderful texture now.

I have the flexibility to move my art supplies around and just change the chalkboard label.

Did I mention this little chest is the perfect height to rest my palette on while painting.

I’m soooo thrilled with the results!

 

Hello, this is Pretty Handy Girl reporting from the sick bay this week. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen my trip(s) to the pharmacy and my hopes for those little pink babies: Read more

You may remember when we created our Summer calendar and bucket list. The boys really responded well to being able to see what was coming up on the calendar. And I enjoyed not having to pull up my Google Calendar on the computer whenever I was put on the spot for a play date. So, continuing to use a calendar in the kitchen was a no brainer. But, creating new calendars on poster board each month — although fun — seemed a bit tedious.

In a sheer stroke of genius suggested by Pretty Handsome Guy I decided to paint a chalkboard calendar on our fridge: Read more

I’m just curious if I’m the only person who loses sight of her desk every week? I spend Monday mornings clearing the clutter and figuring out my plan of attack for the week. I could really save that 30 minutes each week by corralling my clutter in one place! On a recent excursion to Walmart, I found the perfect storage solution!


I also found lots of other goodies at Walmart. My friend Su and I had a blast shopping together. Su is the stay-at-home mom of five. She has a wonderful vivacious personality and is loads of fun to be around. If you haven’t met Su yet, head over to her blog The Intentional Home.

Being crafty gals, we set out to find some inspiration for a new craft project using the Plaid products that were sent to us.

(The Plaid paint selection is just like the candy aisle for me. Drooool!) In the past I have ordered aprons and canvas tote bags for teacher gifts, but now I know that I can pick them up at Walmart!

Sorry if I digressed a little, but that happens to me in those big super stores. Back to my storage solution. I found the perfect sized file bin at Walmart, but the design wasn’t cute enough for me. While browsing the aisles, I also picked up some cute pillow cases, and soon a plan was hatched to give my storage bin some personality. Here’s how I did it: Read more

Chalkboard Tags for Gift Wrap

What is better than a creative gift wrapped package? A creative gift wrapping that can be re-used again and again and again! Chalkboard tags made from foam board are adorable and can be used after the gift has been opened.


Materials:

  • Chalkboard paint
  • Foam board
  • Chalk or chalkboard pen
  • Wrapping paper
  • Ribbon
  • Hole Punch
  • X-acto knife
  • Pencil
  • Ruler

Measure and cut out a 4″ x 6″ rectangle of foam board. The trick to clean cuts in foam board is to use a brand new x-acto blade! It is that simple.


To make perfect diagonal corners, measure 1″ from the corner (across and down) and make  marks. Then draw a diagonal line connecting the two points. Cut off the triangle.

Use the hole punch to put a hole in the middle of the top edge.

Spray paint or paint chalkboard paint onto the foam board. Let it dry.

Season the chalkboard rectangle by rubbing chalk all over the board. Then wipe it off. This will eliminate the chalk message “burning” into the chalkboard and will allow the recipient to re-use the board.


Write a message on the chalkboard tag.


Wrap the present with wrapping paper and a big bow. Attach the tag to the bow.


Now your gift recipient has a cute little re-useable chalkboard tag.


 Merry Christmas, Renee!


Materials:

  • Chalkboard paint
  • Foam core
  • Chalk or chalkboard pen
  • Wrapping paper
  • Ribbon
  • Hole punch
  • X-acto knife
  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Clothespin
  • Silver or Gold acrylic paint
  • Paintbrush
  • Hot glue gun (or Elmer’s glue spots)

Follow the instructions above for making a foam core chalkboard. Eliminate the steps on cutting diagonal corners and adding a hole for this one.

Take apart a clothespin and paint both sides using the silver or gold acrylic paint.

Wrap the present with wrapping paper.

Wrap ribbon around the present, but don’t tie a bow. Just make a knot.


Make a separate bow out of the same ribbon and use hot glue (or Elmer’s glue spots) to attach it to the clothespin.


Clip the clothespin over the knotted bow on your package and slide your chalkboard into the clothespin.


“Merry Christmas, Baby!”

Only one more day until Christmas! Better get wrapping people! I’ll have a final wrapping paper tutorial for you tomorrow, I bet you can’t wait!