Write on! Hippie Christmas # 4

The finale. Just 4 short months ago I was rescuing all these treasures from a landfill fate during student move out and now the finale is here.

So here is our before....

A pretty cool coffee table to start with, and with a groovy paint choice, it would have been an easy quick fix, but I thought of one just as easy and even more groovy.

Chalkboard paint ! Readily available at your local hardware/paint/craft store and really easy to apply. But first the prepping. If you want a nice, smooth surface you MUST sand. Nicks, gouges and overall gook will only intensify once the paint it applied. A belt sander can smooth it in seconds, otherwise just a medium grain sandpaper and some elbow grease will do the trick too.

Now the paint. When I want a really flawless finish I use a roller and when I want it really, really smooth I use foam. No nap to create high and low points.

After just one coat, the table looked like this. Easy, easy and a real professional appearance too. I ended up doing two coats, just to be safe, but as always, follow the manufacturer's directions.

Although it would be a great game table for score keeping or just general doodling, after a conversation with my mother, we discovered it was also perfect toddler height. Nate and I have two 1 year old nephews and they were definitely the inspiration for this one. Saturated primary colors (from left-over cans) were the color choice, and I simply alternated the paint colors to create an appealing order.

I finished this the night before the Artists Open House, so I was not able to get a lot of sunny shots, but I think you get the idea. After inscribing a little message for the fair goers that morning, I wrapped up a small bundle of colored chalk to complete the package and we were off.

It was the second sale of the day and was attracting lots and lots of toddlers. It was instant advertising. The lucky buyers were a couple getting it for their grandson for Christmas. Ahhhh, my thought exactly.

I'll be sharing more photos and stories about the show and all the new transformations later this week.