Chalkboard wall

So most everyone knows that I have been working on a magnetic chalkboard wall for Katya for her birthday. It is just about done...just need to putty the nail holes on the molding and paint. I am pretty happy with how it turned out. I think it looks cute and is so much fun for the kids! Here is pictures of the process:
Step 1: sanding

Step 2: primer

Step 3: magnetic paint (4 coats)

Step 4: chalkboard paint (2 coats)

Step 5: chair rail molding (the flash did weird things to the black...it doesn't look like smeared chalk around the papers)


What didn't work so good is the sanding stage. It was, of course, by far the hardest part and it did not turn out smooth at all. I did not expect to get really smooth but it really doesn't look like I sanded at all! Part of the problem was that I was on a time crunch to get it done for K's b-day. If I had started earlier I could have spent a week or more going over and over the sanding. I could only do so much sanding in one day because it was so exhausting (and of course I couldn't do it when the kids were around because of the paint dust). In retrospect, I should have gone with our original plan of adding drywall mud on top of the existing texture and making it smooth. But the guys at Lowes though we could get away with just sanding and we thought that sounded easier/faster. I don't mind the look of the texture or the way it writes, the issue is that it makes the surface much harder to clean. Chalk gets left in the little crevices and you have to go over it several times to get it all off. I have never used chalkboard paint before so I have no idea how well it will hold up with frequent washing. The good thing is it is pretty cheap so I can re-apply easily.

The magnetic paint is a really cool addition to the project, thanks to my friend April for telling me about it! It is not super strong but is sufficient for our needs...as you can see it holds up a piece of artwork fine. The paint is fairly expensive and you have to do 3 coats but we had plenty with 2 cans and I ended up doing 4 coats just because I wanted to use it up. It could be reapplied after only 30 minutes so it didn't take too terribly long. I am SO glad that I made the chalkboard wall instead of coping out and buying her a big chalkboard like I almost did!

Katya had a wonderful birthday party! More about that to come.