Kids, Chalk, & Blackboards at Home

Jack and Ginger: Writing and Fighting On the Wall.

This picture grabbed my attention because it’s a reminder of a time when “Ginger” was a common name in America. It’s not a good or bad thing, it’s a Social Trending thing. It seems to me like there’s a lot of Sarahs and Mikes in my generation. In this photo’s time, maybe there were a lot of Gingers and Ralphs.

Clever Boy! [Photo – B&W – LIFE Magazine] Photo Link

Holly’s Kitchen Cabinet Blackboard

Seeing that photo reminded me that I hadn’t made a Designer post about our Kitchen Cabinet Chalkboard. Holly came up with the idea for a steel cabinet-side that could be drawn on with chalk, and hold refrigerator magnets . I wasn’t too sure at first; sounded like a dusty, chalky mess. But her ideas are usually good so I measured the cabinet, designed a sheet steel piece with screw holes in SolidWorks (CAD program), had it plate laser-ed out and powder coated. Then I brought it home and Holly painted it again with a couple of coats of blackboard paint.

We also bought some coarse-threaded screws (because some of our cabinets have particle board & veneer sides) and she paintd the heads with the same blackboard paint so they would blend in. This is done by pushing them into a cardboard box so they can stick straight up and be painted, then allowed to dry without getting paint all over a table top or work surface.