Fun things to do with kitchen cabinet doors

Cabinet doors are one of those things that can set my heart racing.  I was lucky enough to find a pile of these at a thrift store.  They were in excellent condition and at $2.50 each, I knew I scored big time!  I had to restrain myself from buying all of them.  

   So I packed 6 of these in my car and was already dreaming of  the possibilities :)

First on my wish list is a chalkboard for my kitchen.   

The inside "panel" was going to be the chalkboard.  As an experiment , I thought I would see how the Rustoleum Chalkboard Spray would hold up without sanding the wood first.   Chalk board and chalk paint seem to have the same texture and the less sanding I do, the happier I am, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

It seems that you do need to sand, only if you're going to write on your chalkboard.   The chalk pulled off the paint when I tried to write.    So, If you're not going to write on the chalkboard , don't bother sanding.  The Rustoleum covered beautifully in one coat.

Now for the "frame". 

After taking off the hinges with a screwdriver, it was time to beat up the wood a bit.   A few swats with a hammer and screwdriver should do it.  Then a good sanding down with a 220 grit to remove the glossiness.  Total time about 5 minutes.

For this I am using  Miss Mustard Seed Milk paint in Lucketts Green.  I don't use milk paint that often, but thank goodness she does a demo on You Tube.   That's was really helpful to watch.   Since I was standing over the cabinet to paint,  I put some card stock over my chalkboard to protect it from getting any paint splatters.   Milk paint is very thin.

I applied 2 coats of the green and dried with a hair dryer cause I'm impatient that way.   Milk paint is supposed to "chip", but I didn't have any chipping going on.   Maybe because my bag of milk paint is about 4 years old ( I told you I don't use milk paint often) or maybe it was the wood itself.  No big deal .  It sanded beautifully on the edges and wherever I want a distressed look.  

 Then  a light seal of light wax followed by dark wax.

Since I wasn't going to use chalk, I decided on a stencil.    I used MS chalk paint in Wedding Cake, which is a very white white.  I like to use the little foam, triangular shape makeup sponges from the dollar store for stencilling.

I gently pressed down with the sponge , inside of wiping across the stencil.    I was afraid I would wipe off the chalkboard.

So right now, my chalkboard sits on top of my kitchen cabinet.   I bought some different flowers that I like better  and I got a basket instead of a flower pot, but for now, those can stay up there. 

The picture aren't the greatest I know....I take my pictures with my IPad.   Hopefully soon, I will get a decent camera and take better photos.   I m trying to find out which would be a good camera to get.  

But until then.....