Don't you just love finding hidden treasures on the side of the road? Here's how I turned a seriously ugly painting into a modern chalkboard for my craft room and market display!

There is this house in my neighborhood that's sort of like the Tardis or Mary Poppins' bag. It must be bigger on the inside, because it seems like there is always a different pile of junk sitting on the curb in front of this place. My running partner and I always eyeball what's there, and most of it is pretty unusable. A couple of months ago though, I saw a hideous painting in an amazing frame and knew this thing had another life hidden inside of it.

I wish I'd taken a before photo, because this thing was seriously ugly. The frame was bronze, and it was matted with canvas that had yellowed and turned dingy with age. The painting itself was some kind of landscape that reminded me of hotel art. This thing sat in the closet for months until a revelation struck: chalkboard paint!

Turning Dumpstered Art into a Chalkboard

The first step was to clean this thing as well as I possibly could with a damp rag. I also ripped out the canvas matting so just the wood underneath was left. I probably should have sanded away the glue underneath, but I was in sort of a rush and cut that corner.

Once everything was clean and dry, I grabbed some white spray paint and painted the bronze frame and inner border white. Spray paint isn't the most eco-friendly option, but I had a can in my craft stash. If you want to green this project up, opt for a low-VOC spray paint! Whatever paint you choose, let it dry over night.

In the morning, you're ready to chalkboard paint! I painted the mat and the painting proper with chalkboard paint, and it took three coats to start looking good. The directions on the back of the tin say to let it dry for a long time between coats, but I gave it 30-45 minutes between coats and it turned out just fine. This is another area where I probably could have gone greener. There aren't too many options out there for chalkboard paint, and I just grabbed a pint of the stuff at the home improvement store near my house. Probably the greenest option would have been to get a pint of no-VOC paint, then make my own chalkboard paint. You might also want to use tape for this part, because as you can see I got some chalkboard paint on the frame. Oops!

Despite some little flaws, I'm super happy with how this came out! I can't wait to hang this puppy in my new craft room and use it in my display at markets!