Blackboard table – Upcycling

I have been meaning to do this upcycle for along time!  I have this old table that has been past down the family.  It has great sentimental value so I didn’t want to get rid of it.

I was in B&Q yesterday and saw that they do a blackboard spraypaint… a light bulb moment!  When I was on a CPD course a few years ago there was an idea of using blackboard paint on a table to use as a small world table.  The children can draw what they want using chalk to help their imaginations!

So, here is how we made ours!  Of course Freya and Seb did most of the work!  I have had to learn to be less of a perfectionist.  It has been worth seeing the pride and care that Freya and Seb took in making this table.

First we needed to prepare the table.  The varnish had all got a bit worn so first job was to sand down the surface.

We decided that we wanted to paint the legs of the table too.  So we flipped it upside down and gave it all a good clean.

When we were in B&Q we also got some chalk paint by Rust-Oleum, also available on amazon #affiliate– after giving it a stir I showed Freya and seb how to paint following the grain of the wood and taking the excess paint of the brush…  they did a great job, but we did only need one coat!

Next we let the paint dry for about 4 hours.  Luckily it was sunny today so Freya and Seb happily played in the garden. 

After lunch Freya was keen to get the blackboard paint on. We had got our paint from B&Q too – Chalkboard Spray paint. You can also get it from amazon #affiliate.  We started by counting to 60 and giving the can a good shake.

Next we used masking tape to make sure only the tp got a coat of black.

I showed Freya how to hold the can and keep it moving.  She found this quite tricky so she watched as I gave the table a good coat and then had another go!

The fun part at the end was taking off the masking tape – Freya loved how the line was so straight.

We have some chalk from Melissa and Doug – available at amazon #affiliate Thee crayons gave a great colour and great colours for making habitats.

First Freya drew on a river.

Then we got out some Safari Dinosaurs!  So much fun!  Can’t wait to see what other worlds they create! Buy them in the UK at Educational supplies #affiliate

I hope you enjoy these activities. I have lots of ideas pinned on pinterest.