Upcycled Thanksgiving Chalkboard Placemats

Upcycled Thanksgiving Chalkboard Placemats

This has been one of the best ideas I've had in a while if I do say so myself! Frankly, Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday (divorced parents= 10 thousand different places to be with 10 thousand extra calories) , so I've made it a point this year to try to be more in the spirit by making some new Thanksgiving decor.  While at a thrift store yesterday, I came across some rather ugly, but very cheap (.25 cents) set of placemats.

Then, I remembered my chalkboard paint and knew that I could turn these into something festive. They turned out really well and would be so good for keeping small children (or ADHD friends) occupied at your Thanksgiving meal.

Time: 2 hours including drying time

Supplies: 
1. Ugly placemats (I think my mom had some of these at one point in time lol)
2. Spray paint
3. Craft paint
4. Chalkboard spray paint (at Lowes or Wal-Mart)
5. Tape
6. Leaves
7. Chalk
8. Kiltz Primer
9. Metallic Sharpie or Paint Marker

Steps:

1. Use Kiltz Primer to cover the mats

2. Tape desired half of mat and spray paint with the color of your choice

3. Spray the other half with Chalkboard spray paint and let dry (this may take two coats)

 4. When dry, peal way the tape and paint the stripe the desired color. Then, let dry.

5. Gather leaves and paint the back side (has more prominent veins) desired color.

6. Stamp onto mat and let dry

7. Write "I'm thankful for..." on each using metallic paint or sharpie

8. Cover in chalk then erase with towel (I'm not sure why, but seems to "set" the chalkboard)

9. Express what you are thankful for :)