Chalkboard coffee table

Hey there! So I've been slow to posting, but bear with me here. I have three kids and I just got over a crazy sand storm yesterday. Yikes! Let's talk pinterest. Yes, I am, as usual, late to the game. But better later than never! If you're visiting from bower power blog or centsational girl, ten june, or young house love, I hope you'll stick around support a gal, and follow my new adventures! I'm new at this, so please be easy on me ;o)

I recently found a very cool pin-spiration :o) in the form of a chalkboard coffee table. 

I found here, but originally from Apartment Therapy

I was so excited, because I had just found a perfect candidate on dubizzle, the Middle Eastern version of craigslist.

Before...

...and AFTER! 

I was thrilled with the way it turned out. Maybe a little too thrilled. It seems I forgot I made this for my kids and pushed them over kindly asked them if I could use it and got carried away. (o: 

What I used:

Krylon: H2O primer, chalkboard paint

 and color in Ocean Breeze. Not shown, 

medium grit sanding block

 Given that the primer is called H2O, I'm gonna go on a whim and say....it's water based (o: The paint however is oil based. So far I've used the H2O On two other projects and the paint is sticking just fine. So far I love this stuff! I lightly (barely) sanded the table and gave it one coat of H2O primer.

This primer is great because if you make a mistake, it wipes up with a wet cloth easily. I use baby wipes, and it washes off my hands in a jiffy. The other cool thing about this primer is it dries fast and I don't need to sand after. It's as smooth as butta. Sometimes the primer bubbles, but honestly I think it's from the severely HIGH humidity of Dubai. But even that isn't a problem. If it's too bubbly I wipe it up with a baby wipe and spray again. Sometimes it just goes away on it's own. 

After the primer, I stood the table upright so I could spray straight at the table instead of at an angle. 

The chalkboard paint didn't spray as heavy as regular spray paints. It's very sparse, light and forgiving in my opinion. I was able to go over different parts of the table repeatedly and the paint didn't drip.

So purrrrty!

 After the top of the table dried ( I gave it a day, not because it needed that much time, but because my kids needed my time) I taped off the edges of the top with regular masking tape, flipped it upside down on top of another table to raise it up. 


I sprayed away happily enjoying the smooth finish of that beautiful turquoise when all of a sudden... my can RAN OUT! What the what!?! I couldn't believe the brand new can couldn't cover all the legs and sides. The can must have been partially used before I bought it and I just didn't notice. 

The last unfinished leg )o: booooo

So I left the table as is sitting out side for TWO days until I got around to getting another can. BIG MISTAKE! Because the good Ol' Dubai heat melted the tape right onto the table.

Sticky residue left around entire edge of the table. 

Did I mention the ENTIRE edge of the table?

This tape, even though it's not painters tape, has never given me issues before, but I also never left my projects out to roast in the sun either. I don't recommend using that tape on a project you really care about because I don't want to be responsible. I didn't have painters tape and I'm waiting to go back home to buy it for cheap. That's why I used this. Any way, guess who came to the rescue?

Buy this stuff, then marry it!

That's right baby! Goo Gone. This stuff is awesome. It must be what Snapple is made of, because it really is the 'best stuff on earth'. It gets every thing off! I'll have to do a post on it, but Goo Gone has saved me on numerous occasions. After I used it, the edges were a little glossy, but the chalk dust eventually faded out the shine. And ta da...back to perfect!

I've linked up to Katie's pinterest challenge. and the co hosts are listed below! So check out their blogs to find other cool pin-spired projects. 

Katie @ Bower Power Blog

Sherrie @ YoungHouseLove

Kate @ Centsational Girl

Michelle @ Ten June

Thank you so much for visiting and I would LOVE to read your comments. So please, feel free to type up a couple words. Literally a couple, cuz my kids might not give me a chance to read more than that ;o) THANK YOU!!!

-Debora