Fun with chalkboard paint

We just found out that Abby is allergic to dust mites.  Those darns suckers are everywhere.  The doctor suggested putting almost everything in plastic bins.  Good thing I like organizing!  I wanted to put her closet items in bins with lids, and be able to change the labels as her needs began to change.  So after 3 trips to Target, I found the right sized plastic bins.

Chalkboard paint is "in".  Everyone is doing it.  So, after looking at beautiful pictures on Pinterest, I decided to give chalkboard paint labeling a try.  I have painted wood before, and it does great!  My kids love the chalk areas on the cabinets in the playroom.  But I have never tried to create labels on glass jars or plastic bins before.  So instead of starting simple, I of course painted 10 different things at once.  It was fun, and educational.  There is a right and a wrong way to do this.  Here are a fews tips:

Paint choice:  I had an old can of chalkboard paint from 2006 laying in my garage.  Guess what?  It worked just great.  Just give it a little shake, and it is as good as new.  I know some people like to mix their own chalkboard paint so they have fun colors.  I like it in classic black.  And sometimes I am a little lazy.

Plastic:  This is trickier then I thought.  Granted, I didn't read any expert's blog posts on the subject.  But I had seen numerous pictures of people taping and painting.  So I thought, how hard could it be?  Not hard, but you need to know a few tricks to make it work on plastic.  First, create your label area with masking tape.  I didn't make it perfectly square (remember, I am not good at measuring).  I just eye-balled it and started painting.The trick I discovered is when you pull the tape off.  I think on plastic it is better to pull it off when wet.  I found that if I pulled of the tape too late, the paint wanted to peel off of the plastic, like a really good facial peel.  And then I had to paint again.  I would also suggest painting 2 coats in the beginning - the thicker it was on the plastic, the less peeling that happened at the end.

Glass:  I really like how the glass jar turned out.  I am going to do this again after collecting some neat looking jars.  The biggest mistake I did here was putting the paint on too thick.  There is no way to put glass jars on their sides.  I guess I have to be patient and do a few coats.  It was easier to paint and it adhered better.  I found the edges to be a little "rough" looking.  I kinda like it.  If you don't like it, it wipes right off while the paint is wet.  I think more jars are in my future.  

Oh yah, I had a happy baby who was patient during my painting.  Especially since I attacked all 3 kid's closets at once.