Since I’ve been attempting to control the clutter in my basement — and catch up on unpacking a few boxes stored down there from TWO YEARS AGO — I came across a pair of these breakfast trays that we’ve used, probably, never. BUT they’re in never-used condition, and I needed something to fill That Annoying Space above the cabinets in my kitchen (which is its own ongoing decorating project).

Chalkboard paint is SUPER easy to accomplish in an afternoon (so long as you can keep the cats away from the kitchen table long enough). I like to paint with sponge brushes for these types of small projects.

I didn’t bother priming because a) it’s chalkboard paint and b) it’s a small surface and c) AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT. See: it was only going to be for decoration and no functional use. Also see: dramatic foreshadowing.

The surface of the trays is similar to some kind of whiteboard material — super shiny — and no, I did not want to use as whiteboards. The corners were a pain in my ass, so after wiping excess paint off the wood 18 million times, I went back and taped the edges.

Said tape pulled up the paint when I removed it, which means I left it to dry too long.

These babies only needed two coats, and the chalkboard paint is REALLY forgiving, so you don’t need to worry about any streaking. Until the edge tape pulls the paint off the edges, and you have to go back and fix with a tiny brush. But what would a quickie-DIY project be without unexpected annoyances!

We were hosting a neighborhood “stoop” party, so I replicated a fun illustration from a set of greeting cards welcoming our guests.

And there you have it: one simple weekend DIY project!

We’ve used chalkboard paint in two different kitchen projects (the first was a cabinet door above the keg fridge), and it’s so easy to use and to create something unique. Plus, the ongoing art therapy of drawing with chalk gives this 30-something warm memories of sidewalk chalk masterpieces.

Have any fun weekend DIY projects? Leave them in the comments!