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Make a Scene

Total Time Needed:: Weekend Projects

Here's a clever idea that lets the budding artists in your household try their hands at interior decorating: a chalkboard mural ready to fill with people, pets, flowers, and all sorts of other fanciful drawings. Best of all, when your kids have had enough of one scene, they can literally wipe the slate clean and start all over again. Our basic design -- a hilltop house with a grassy yard and long driveway -- features both green and black chalkboard paints and is a breeze to replicate. Just follow the step-by-step directions.

Materials

Roller and synthetic paintbrushes
Blue eggshell or semigloss latex paint
Pencil

Painters' tape
Black and green latex chalkboard paint (we used Rust-Oleum brand)
Red and brown acrylic paint

Instructions

Cover the wall with a base coat of the blue paint and let it dry thoroughly. Next, lightly pencil a hilltop house design on the wall. For the best results, draw basic shapes, such as a triangular roof, square windows, and a round treetop.
Apply a border of painters' tape around the driveway and street areas. Brush on black chalkboard paint and let it dry thoroughly (4 or more hours). Apply a second coat if needed. Remove the tape. Following the same method, paint the grass and treetop with green chalkboard paint and let it dry.
Use painters' tape to outline the house and cover the windows and door. Now paint the house red and the tree trunk brown. When the house is dry, remove the tape, then mark off the roof with tape. Finally, fill in the roof, windows, and door with black chalkboard paint.
Let the finished scene cure for 3 full days. Then condition the chalkboard surfaces by rubbing them with chalk (sidewalk chalk held sideways works well). Vigorously rub the chalk into the surfaces with an eraser, towel, or rag to season them before ultimately wiping them clean with a dry cloth. This process will help prevent erased drawings from "ghosting" through. After 7 days, you can clean the surface with a damp cloth, if desired. Just be sure to recondition the surface after each wet wiping.