This truly is my favourite kind of upcycling. Creative art with masking tape. And after a smidgen dumpster diving, (well, they were staring at me while I went to chuck my own stuff) and I couldn't very well leave them there to rot.
These frugal freebies were solid wood IKEA boxes and after finding a website called IKEA Hackers for the best way to use them, it seemed that planters were common.
Perfect, I thought, I'm growing veg and want to bring my herbs in to the kitchen.
So these now sit pretty on my window sil. Then I wanted them to be named in tea, coffee, flour style and thought it would be limiting myself, but not if I painted them with blackboard paint! This is where Wilko's came in. They do the cheapest blackboard paint I could find and I agree with what it says on the tin; apply liberally as it doesn't drip, it dries perfect while thick in less than 30 mins and I only needed two coats.
But the question was, did I want blackboard paint all around? No, ideally I could have a little pattern to break it up and experiment with something new. And then I remembered seeing an Annie Sloan masking tape strip peel-off technique from her book, Quick and Easy Transformations. And what made this project extra cheap was getting her book from the library once again. I really should buy it but like to keep my costs down!
Here's what I used:
- Annie Sloan's Book: Quick & Easy Transformations
- 3 Bjuron IKEA planters (bare wood, no sanding)
- 500ml Wilkos tin of blackboard paint
- Wickes' Chalky Flat Matt Harvest Moon cream paint (Discontinued)
- Wickes' Chalky Flat Matt Wolf Paint (Discontinued)
- Lavender Wood Silk - Note you will find it half the price in Tesco which I used instead of clear wax.
- Annie Sloan Dark Wax
- Any size masking tape
- Acrylic paint brush (largest one you can handle for the job)
- 2 x Lint free cloths (I used my fiance's old shirt)
Method
1. I painted every other side of the planter with a thin coat of harvest moon paint.
2. I then painted a thick coat of blackboard paint on the other blank sides.
3. Then tore strip of masking tape and placed them on top of the harvest moon paint where I wanted them.
4. I then painted one coat of Wolf paint (a greenish grey) over the whole area of the masking tape sections please watch video for more help).
5. While I wait for this to dry, I gave the blackboard paint another coat.
6. Peel off the masking tape sections.
7. Now mix a small and equal amount of the clear (or lavender silk wax polish) and dark wax and apply with a lint free cloth.
8. Finally take any excess off with a clean lint free cloth and if you think it is too dark and antiquey for you, take it off with more clear wax with your clean cloth.
I hope you found this technique useful, I certainly had fun with this project and will admire it every time I pick some fresh herbs for my cooking.
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