Chalkboard Fridge

That's right....my very first project I took on after moving into our very first house was to paint the refrigerator with chalkboard paint!

It went from this:

To this in just a couple of days (apparently I like to stretch out the majority of my projects over a matter of days).

Now, a chalkboard fridge isn't for everybody. Just ask my sister or mom if they want me to make over their refrigerator and I'm betting you they would say, "No way, Jose."  But it was just the perfect first project for our new home and this odd gal. It didn't take an overwhelming amount of effort and I know that we won't be living with it forever.  The later being the reason I was able to get Jesse on board (and even help out!).  We are planning a kitchen remodel down the road (a very long ways down the road).  He probably knew this was a good way to let me do a little bit and spend only a little amount of money and be satisfied with our kitchen for a smidgin' longer.  And to put me off on attempting to paint the cupboards awhile longer too (though I'm using this time to convince him it is a good idea that works).

Anyways, back to my super, awesome project! I love it! Can I say that again? I love it! It is the perfect place to keep track of our menu.  I also quite enjoy making to do lists and this is a perfect place to write one out. Make it nice and big and in a spot where I always have to look at it. Then maybe things will also get crossed off the list (possibly my favorite part of list making <-- list making is an art).

So, the steps were pretty simple.
1) Take apart the fridge if you desire -- quite possibly the most difficult part of this entire project. It seemed to take us forever to figure out how to get those darn handles off! Jesse did not want to have a black fridge with white handles, so we decided to spray paint them black.  We also attempted to take off the face plate of the ice/water dispenser. Somebody (me) got a little too rammy and cracked a corner, but that someone (me) also successfully removed the plate later the next day, who then tried to continue to take apart the darn thing and cracked yet another piece of plastic by tightening a screw rather than loosening....Anyways with all that work and destruction we decided to just leave the darn thing white and put it back together.

2) Next up, I sanded the beast down. I used some 3M sanding blocks and went to town -- dust everywhere so clean up later!

3) Wipe down all the dust off the fridge so you can paint!

4) While I was doing steps 2 & 3 Jesse was being a sport and coating the white handles (and some grass) with black appliance spray paint.

5) Apply the first, second, and third coats of chalkboard paint with a roller according to the paint instructions.

6) I then covered the entire thing with chalk and wiped it off before starting to make my menus, lists, and awesome doodles on our fridge.

7) Bask in the awesomeness that is chalkboard paint and all the crazy people that first tried out painting their  own refrigerators.

My lovely one more time