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August 15, 2011

Fridge chalkboard.....F for fail!

I was so excited to start this project....I had seen other people who had painted chalkboards on their fridge and just loved the idea!


I had visions of a menu board on one side and a calendar/grocery list on the other.....I was pricing chalkboard pens at the craft store....(which by the way are VERY expensive and can only be purchased with a 50% off coupon!)


I was determined to make sure that I did a good job on this project....partly, because I painted without any hubby-input and I wasn't sure that he'd be too keen on the idea of "painting" the fridge!



I even broke out the level because if anything bugs my hubby, it's a crooked line....he can spot them.  I walk into an older building and appreciate decor, he immediately recognizes crooked doorways and floors....he's an artist what can I say?





That being said....I needed to make sure that my boxes were perfectly square with no crooked lines, so I very carefully taped them off!



I grabbed my trusty can of chalkboard paint.....this stuff lasts forever!...and my foam roller.




Then...I started to paint....and HERE LIES MY MISTAKE....primer!  You can NOT paint on a plastic surface without primer, people....


How did I find out???  When I peeled off the tape....the paint started to completely peel off my chalkboard!!




This picture shows nothing of what it really looked like....it was HORRIBLE!! At this point, I was in a panic.....I had about 20 minutes before the hubby came home and a fridge in complete and utter disaster!  I had RUINED the fridge!!


As my dinner cooked (and eventually burned!), I frantically scraped as much paint off as I could and quickly vacuumed it up.  I could only get the smaller board off and I tried to touch up the larger board.....and then I hung up ALOT of magnets! LOL


 I have yet to scrape off the larger chalkboard....it doesn't look bad at a distance.....a L*O*N*G distance!




Oh well.....you win some....and you ruin some!


Can you tell my son just started drum lessons?  

8 comments:

  1. OH NOOO!!! I have to be honest and say I didn't use primer when I painted my fridge either...I didn't have any brush on primer on hand so I went for it. I guess I was "lucky"??? One thought...could you use a frame or make a frame that size and somehow glue it on to finish off the edges of the one you left on there? That was something I had thought about too. Hope your hubby wasn't too mad....chat soon, Laurel
    PS...I would suggest NOT using those chalkboard pens on your fridge. I did...and it took off some of the paint. Regular chalk seems to work best...and its cheaper :)

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  2. Oh my gosh!! My heart was racing even as I read your post -- LOL! I was thinking the same thing as Laurel -- make a frame to go around the edges. Measure it, have the hardware store cut and miter it and attach with E6000 or Gorilla Glue. Or, go buy a lot more magnets :)

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  3. Oh dear Nicole. I know that panicky feeling. It looks really good. It's not a fail. Sending you a big crafty hug!

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  4. That just reminds me... in my ESL (English as a Second Language) class a few years back, I learned about a student who told his parents that all the F's on his report card stood for Fantastico! So you can "chalk" this up to a "fantastico" learning experience, right?

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  5. You poor thing......THIS IS MY LIFE! Love, Me www.youaretalkingtoomuch.com

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  6. Are you sure your fridge is plastic? I would think metal. Does the chalkboard paint come off with paint remover? You could try using on a primered piece overy thin wood and hanging that on your fridge--possibly in a very flat frame.

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  7. Oh, I can't spell or type!! You could try using it on a primered piece of very thin wood is what I meant.

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