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    Repurposed Furniture » Chalkboard Shelf using a Cabinet Door

    Chalkboard Shelf using a Cabinet Door

    Published by Gail | Published June 21, 2016 | Updated June 23, 2021
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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    How to make a large chalkboard shelf using an old cabinet door, some thrift store spindles and scrap wood. Step by step tutorial for you to make one too! #MyRepurposedLife #repurposed #cabinetdoor #chalkboard via @repurposedlife

    This large chalkboard shelf is so different than anything I’ve done before, and I love it! Staging it was a lot of fun too, be sure to read all about it at the end of the post.

     

    cabinet-doors aIf you’ve been a friend for a long time, you probably have seen this picture before. My friend Shannon for Quarry Orchard gave me her stash of cabinet doors a few years ago. I’ve been working my way through them, one by one.

     

    five-dollar-bundle-spindles

    I’ve had these $5 spindles for a couple of years now, and I’ve only used a few of the bundle. Then I saw this in a roundup I’m included in , and knew I needed to make it.

     

    *this post contains affiliate links*

    Large cabinet door chalkboard shelf design

    cabinet door spindle chalkboard

    This is how this large chalkboard shelf came together. Using one large cabinet door, two thrift store spindles, a 1x4, and a scrap piece of wide tongue and groove,  I started designing my new project.

    I used Gorilla Glue Construction Adhesive to attach the spindles to the cabinet door and the shelves.

     

    Glue and clamp chalkboard project

    clamp spindlesI had used the tongue and groove on a red chair bench seat, with one lonely piece leftover. That is what I used for the bottom shelf.

     

    Paint cabinet door shelf

    primer coat large spindle cabinet door chalkboardI used some diy chalky paint primer with some purple oops to do the first primer coat on the large chalkboard shelf. No need to waste my black paint as a primer when I have some $7 oops paint, right?

     

     

    finish max large cabinet door chalkboardI used my Homeright Finish Max and semi-gloss Behr (Beluga) to spray the front and the back, but skipping the part that would become the chalkboard.

     

    Easy DIY crackle finish

    diluted glue as a crackle mediumI’ve used diluted glue as a crackle medium before, and thought I would give it another try, but with a different twist. I brushed it on with a cheap chip brush.

     

     

    white glue crackle mediumI’m not sure if I diluted the glue too much, or if I didn’t let it set up enough, but it didn’t turn out quite like I had hoped.

    Paint sprayer  paint over crackle medium

    finish max crackle medium white glueHere’s the twist! The key to getting white glue to crackle is to NOT overwork the topcoat of paint. What better way to not do that, than to use my Finish Max to spray on the topcoat of Polished Pearl.

     

     

    crackle medium white glue finish maxSome of the paint crackled better than other parts. Again, I didn’t bother painting the portion that would be the chalkboard.

     

     

    crackled spindle large cabinet door chalkboardHere’s another view of the crackling process.

    d rings for hanging

    2016-06-03 17.43.44

    I used my favorite d rings on the back for hanging. You can see in this picture that I left the back black instead of crackling it.

    Not shown: I brought it in the house to paint the chalkboard using a sponge brush and Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint.

    Cabinet door Chalkboard Shelf

    large cabinet door spindle chalkboard MyRepurposedLife.comEach of these boards is 5.5 inches wide, so overall this large chalkboard shelf measures almost 40” across!

     

    large chalkboard repurposed cabinet door teachers change the world MyRepurposedLife.com

    Here is the cabinet door chalkboard shelf all decked out with some of my old teacher memorabilia from back in the day!

     

     

    my class did this to meThese items resided on my desk for many, many years, including the little frazzled lady that says “My Class did this to me”. I felt like that many days teaching four year old pre-school for 19 years!

     

    I have many more cabinet doors and spindles, so I may be doing another version of this in the near future. After I finished it, I already had ideas of how I would change it up if I were to do it again.

     

    How to make a chalkboard shelf out of an old cabinet door, vintage spindles and scrap wood. Easy weekend project shows you how to use white glue as a crackle medium. MyRepurposedLife.com

    How to make a chalkboard shelf out of an old cabinet door, vintage spindles and scrap wood. Easy weekend project shows you how to use white glue as a crackle medium. MyRepurposedLife.com

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    There are a lot more cabinet door projects here

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    1. Tammy P

      July 10, 2016 at 6:28 pm

      This may be a silly question, but where do you find all of those old spindles?

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        July 10, 2016 at 8:28 pm

        No silly questions, ever!

        I lucked in to these at a local Peddler's Mall. The ReStore (Habitat for Humanity) generally has them for 1-2 dollars.
        I hope you find some soon.

        gail

    2. Paula

      June 26, 2016 at 7:24 am

      Great project! I didn't know that you were a teacher in the past. I'll be on year 26 starting in August.

      Reply
    3. Debbie-Dabble

      June 26, 2016 at 4:17 am

      Gail,
      I am totally amazed at this project and all your other fantastic cabinet door projects!! Amazing!!
      Thanks so much for stopping by!!
      My former blog, Debbie-Dabble was hacked through my Face Book Debbie-Dabble Page. I created a new blog, Debbie-Dabble Blog and I invite you to please follow me on my new blog.

      http://www.debbie-dabbleblog.blogspot.com

      Hugs,
      Deb

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        June 26, 2016 at 9:29 am

        Oh, sorry to hear about your blog being hacked! I wish you lots of luck with the new blog Debbie.

        Thanks for stopping by to check out my chalkboard project. I LOVE using old cabinet doors.

        gail

    4. Julie @ follow your heart woodworking

      June 23, 2016 at 6:53 pm

      LOVE your chalkboard shelf! I have a photo of one on file from years ago, very similar with the spindles on each side. So many ideas, so little time... you did a great job on yours.

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        June 23, 2016 at 7:00 pm

        Thanks Julie! I use to save files to my computer all those years ago, now I use Pinterest!

        gail

    5. Wendi @ H2OBungalow

      June 22, 2016 at 6:00 am

      I love the finish and you are right, spraying on the top coat is the perfect solution to not overworking the glue crackle! You're giving me inspiration for my extra bed spindles that are left over from my pedestal bowl project. As always.. I want to come out and go shopping with you! I never get those kind of deals here!

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        June 22, 2016 at 10:23 am

        Thanks for checking out my latest chalkboard Wendi. I LOVE using bits and pieces... on anything I can. I still want to do a pedestal bowl, and am constantly looking for some wooden bowls. 🙂

        gail

    6. Mindi

      June 21, 2016 at 4:29 pm

      Oh I LOVE it with the spindles! I remember seeing that round up, you did a great job Gail, and the crackle finish looks awesome!

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        June 21, 2016 at 9:38 pm

        Thanks Mindi! It was fun doing something a little different, and using up another cabinet door.

        gail

    7. girlfromwva

      June 21, 2016 at 12:53 pm

      awesome!!!

      Reply

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