My Creative Blog + SuperCreative

Interactive Playroom Wall {Five Foot Twelve Creations}

If you missed all the amazing projects in the first three weeks of CWTS, be sure to check them out below!
Round 1 Projects & Winners Round 2 Projects & Winners Ro und 3 Projects & Winners

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We love when someone takes a current trend and puts their own unique spin on it! This interactive wall by Melissa scores major points with us for creativity and major points with her kids for hours of fun! I don't even want to show my kids these pictures because I know for sure that they'd think Melissa is a much cooler mom than I am!

Our basement is better known as"the kid cave." When we arranged it, we set it up in"stations"--kitchen area, dress-up area, puppet theater, arts & craft studio and a"school room"for my future teacher. I love the way chalkboard paint looks and although it is not a new concept, I have always wanted to use it in our basement. The wall I chose for this project is approximately 21 feet long and I thought it would be neat to create an interactive chalkboard wall.

First, I painted the wall using Rustoleum Black Chalkboard Paint. While it recommends two coats of paint, I went ahead and gave it three coats, as the wall seemed to really soak in the first coat. In designing the chalkboard wall, I knew I wanted lots of space for the kids to draw and create, but I also wanted to put some things that would be permanent, instead of just having a 21 foot chalkboard. I decided to include a map of the U.S.A…I love the way it looks and will be fun to track the different states we go to as a family. I printed a map of the U.S. onto an overhead transparency and used an overhead projector to trace the map onto the wall. I used a permanent white paint sharpie marker to trace the map.

I also wanted to have some fun and whimsical frames on the wall as well. So using the same method as the U.S.A. map, I chose the following"hanging doodle frames" from PrintCandee.com:

Next, I designed a large interactive tic-tac-toe board. Similar to the map and frames, I traced the board onto the wall. Here is the board I used…you can download the template here.

I bought five"X's" and five"O's" from the craft store…you may have to go to a few craft stores--they have plenty of"O's" but don't stock many"X's"! Also at the craft store, I bought self-adhesive magnet strips. At Home Depot, I bought nine two-inch washers. After painting the"X's" and"O's", I super-glued the washers onto the letters, and fastened the magnet strips onto the wall.

For the title of the game and the map, I created stencils on my Cameo. Here is a great tip for stenciling… once you get the stencil arranged onto the wall (or wood, object, etc.), before stenciling with the color(s) you want the word/objects to be…first paint a light coat of the background color…in this case I used the black chalkboard paint. This creates a seal with the stencil and I have found that it prevents bleeding of the paint--making your stencil look very crisp.

(I forgot to take picture of painting on the red and blue! Sorry!)

Speaking of paint…it was a blast picking out all the fun paint colors at Home Depot! Because I was using so many colors and didn't need a gallon of each color…Home Depot made my day when they told me that they can mix any color in a small, 7.5 oz jar…perfect!!

I picked the step-stools up at IKEA and painted them in fun colors…

Not only are they great for setting the game pieces and chalk on, but they are extremely sturdy stools and perfect for giving little kids a boost for drawing and playing on the wall.
I have always adored these giraffe and elephant hooks from Anthropologie…and I love the way they add a fun (and helpful!) detail to the chalkboard wall:

Finally I added some framed artwork courtesy of the kids…they were so excited to help with this project!

Mom of the year, folks!: ) If you haven't stopped over to say hello to Melissa, what are you waiting for? She's got a bunch of cute things going on over there on her blog including this adorable"Wizard of Oz" subway art she made for her daughter:

Don't forget to link up your favorite paint projects right here until 10 PM EST tonight! Also, Sarah will be here tomorrow sharing how she completely transformed that chunky bookshelf into an awesome functional and beautiful secretary desk- you won't want to miss it!
Happy weekend!

jess
Monica

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Interactive Playroom Wall {Five Foot Twelve Creations} + SuperCreative