Spray Paint | Imagine Our Life

I’ve been wanting some art for Jax’s playroom for quite a while. Large scale art is quite expensive, so it was time for a little DIY. I knew the first piece I wanted to make would involve the alphabet. Jax can recognize 90% of the alphabet and loves to point out the letters he knows.

The only thing I bought for this project is spray paint. I got Rustolium Painter’s Touch in aqua satin finish. I already had the 30″ x 40″ blank canvas – a gift from a dear friend before she passed away. The scrapbook paper and Mod Podge is from my craft stash.

To start, I created a 30″ x 40″ document in Photoshop and started laying out the alphabet in different fonts until I was happy with how it looked. I then cut everything up into templates and printed them out (in light gray to save ink.) If you’d like my pattern, download a zip file here. If you have a different size canvas, you’ll have to scale the templates accordingly.

Spray painting the canvas took all of 5 minutes and I only needed one good coat. I’m planning to use the leftover paint on a smaller canvas for the reading nook.

The part that took the longest was cutting out the letters. The templates print out backwards, so I’d lightly tape one to the back of my paper and cut out both the template and paper at the same time. Some letters, like the F and R, were too big to print in one piece. I had to print them in parts and tape it together before cutting the letter out. As I cut each letter, I’d tape it to my canvas using my layout as a guide, choosing colors as I went.

Once everything was cut, I was ready to glue the letters down. I used the leftover Mod Podge from my barn project. I started with a paint brush but it started shedding so I switched to a foam brush. I simply picked up a letter (throwing out the tape), painted a layer of glue on the canvas, placed the letter back down, smoothed it out and painted glue over top. I found heavier scrapbook paper worked better. My very thin dark blue paper wrinkled up as it was drying. I made sure the glue covered the whole canvas for an even finish.

I let the canvas dry overnight and was so happy when I saw the result in the morning light. It looks so colorful and happy in the playroom and fits perfectly between the windows over Jax’s little kitchen. (Side note: I just bought wood to add two more shelves to his kitchen. Those Melissa & Doug food boxes drive me nuts stacked like that!)

What do you think of our ABC art?

I’ve been wanting some sort of chalkboard in Jackson’s playroom for some time now. I just wasn’t sure what would work. The room was built to be a living room and has outlets everywhere. We have the baby proofed, but their placement blocked me from being able to just paint a chalkboard onto the walls.

When I discovered they make chalkboard spray paint, I knew just what I wanted to do. I measured out the wall where the chalkboard would be to find out how wide I’d need to make it so it could both be centered and cover the outlet. Three feet wide was just perfect.

Supplies:
In the clearance aisle of the craft store, I purchased a 2’x3′ frame that was 50% off. It was a tacky gold that wasn’t my style at all, so I also grabbed some spray paint. At the hardware store, I had them cut down a 2’x4′ piece of chipboard (I brought my frame and tested it after he cut 12″ off the board. Good thing I did – it was too short because the board hadn’t been 2’x4′ after all!) I also grabbed the chalkboard spray paint there. Here is the full list:

Wooden picture frame
Chipboard cut to fit your frame
Chalkboard Spray Paint
Regular Spray Paint (I used Apple Red Gloss)
Gloves
Sanding Block & Sandpaper for crevices
Drop cloth
Chalk
Paper Towels

I started by sanding the frame so it was no longer shiny and sanding one side of the chipboard to rough it up. Then I set up a drop cloth outside and laid out both pieces. I did three light coats of spray paint on the frame, waiting 15 minutes or so in between. I did about 4 light coats on the board with the chalkboard paint. (Quick tip: I thought my paint was clogged, but it turned out my too-big gloves were blocking part of the spray and causing spatter!)

The hard part comes next: waiting! When everything was dry, I brought it inside to cure. Resist the urge to try the chalkboard for 24 hours. Easier said than done!

24 hours later, it was time to prime the chalkboard with a layer of chalk. I found that the spray paint left a layer of black sooty dust after it dried, so I covered the whole thing in chalk as directed, then used paper towels to get all the chalk and black dust up.

All that was left was to put the frame back together (minus the glass it came with) and hang it up! My frame came with one teeny tiny picture hook so I got a picture hanging kit rated for up to 50 lbs. It looks great under his art gallery! I chose a frame that had a perfect dip in the molding to hold our chalk.