My chalkboard wall has redeemed itself! The smudgey wall taunted me for weeks, every time I went downstairs to do laundry, which is often! I finally found time to retape it and paint two more coats and it looks so much better! I made sure the coats were thick and even to cover up my mess. I also read somewhere that it's best to use a microfiber cloth to wipe it down. So far it seems to work. It's still a little smudgey, but nothing like it used to be!

Obviously I'm no chalkboard artist, but it's fun to doodle! And since we don't have a frame around it yet, I decided to draw one.

Ever since I wrote this on there I've been humming the song around the house and singing it to baby boy. You don't realize how much seeing something over and over sticks with you. It's like our own personal encouragement billboard!

If you think you want to paint a magnetic chalkboard, here's what to do and what not to do! I hope someone can learn from my mistakes!I used Rustoleum chalkboard paint and magnetic paint. There are lots of brands to choose from, this is just what happened to be at the neighborhood Ace Hardware. I also got a couple small foam rollers. I grabbed some Frog Tape and made a rectangle. I didn't measure it, I just kind of guesstimated what I thought looked like a good size. Adam (the engineer in the house) thought it needed to be more precise. He got the level out to make sure everything lined up!My sweet sister volunteered to do the magnetic paint. It dries fast, so 4 coats only took a couple hours.

Here it is with just magnetic paint. It's pretty dark, but more grey than black. And you can see it does hold up a piece of paper!

And here it is after the final coats of chalkboard paint. The hardest part is waiting 3 days before you "prime it" with chalk.

Basically you rub chalk all over the wall! Be prepared for a dusty mess! Don't worry, it wipes up easily.

So that's the saga of our chalkboard wall. If you think you want to paint your own, here are my tips!

Here's what I learned about magnetic paint:

TIP #1: If you'll be using your magnetic paint right after you buy it, have the quart shaken at the store. I didn't do this and had to make an extra trip to have it done. That stuff if thick! So thick that I broke a paint stick trying to stir it!

TIP #2: If you get any of the magnetic paint on your hands, I recommend using Mineral Spririts (you can find it at the hardware store) to get it off. The paint is kind of oily like a stain. It also smells a lot more than regular paint, so try to paint on a day when you can open the windows.

TIP #3 The directions recommended 3 thin coats. We ended up doing 4. After 3 coats magnets did stick to the surface, but they still slipped a little. Even with 4 coats, the wall still isn't extremely "magnetic", especially with 4 coats of chalkboard paint over it. It holds single pieces of paper up find, but don't expect to hold up anything too heavy! *After living with the wall for a little while, I don't think I would recommend magnetic paint. It's expensive (I think the quart was $20!) and it doesn't work that well. Has anyone had better luck with it? I'll stick (pun intended) to magnets on the refrigerator!

Here's what I learned about chalkboard paint:

TIP #1: It's not as thick as magnetic paint, and since our primer (the magnetic paint) was black, it went on really easy. BUT, don't do what I did and make the coats too thin. From my experience, the thicker the better if you want to be able to erase it.

TIP #2: It's hard to wait 3 days after the final coat to let it cure before covering it with chalk!

TIP #3: I have some chalk markers, but I've read that you shouldn't use them on a chalkboard wall because it's really hard to clean it off. I read the same thing about sidewalk chalk, has anyone else heard this?

I'm sure it will be awhile before we get a frame up, but for now we finally have a magnetic chalkboard! Bring on the shopping lists and silly notes!

Anyone else painted anything with chalkboard paint recently? Have any other tips?