A few weeks ago I shared a recent upcycle of a wooden cable reel. We turned it into a fairy house for the children to play with. We actually picked up two cable reels so today I’m going to show you what we did with the other.
Cable reels are great and there are so many ways to upcycle them. My children love to use chalk to draw on the patio and walls so I made them a cable reel blackboard – perfect for mark making outside.
We used:
Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint (Old School Green)
Wooden cable reel
Smooth pebbles
Chalkola Pens
How to make a simple cable reel blackboard
The Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint was really easy to use. I simply sprayed it over the top of the cable reel until it was completely covered, then left it to dry. I used the Old School Green with matt finish – totally reminiscent of my school days! It’s a brilliant way to create a chalkboard on any surface. It works with conventional chalks and liquid chalk markers.
I bought a new pack of chalk for my children to use on the blackboard but also thought it would be fun to make them some painted stone animals so they could play noughts and crosses.
I used Chalkola Pens to make 5 ladybirds and 5 bees on some smooth pebbles. These were quick and easy to make but meant the children had something extra to play with if they got bored of writing or drawing pictures.
After school I set up an invitation to play with the cable reel chalkboard and stone animals.
They marked out boards to play noughts and crosses and it kept them occupied. It didn’t stop them then chalking all over the patio and walls but at least it gave them a new surface to write on.
8 Comments
Ashleigh Dougherty
June 28, 2017 at 1:23 pmWhat an amazing idea for some creative doodles outside.
Rhian Westbury
June 28, 2017 at 4:04 pmI love the blackboard paint, it’s so good that you can make something like this out of something you’d otherwise throw away x
Rachel George, Ordinary Hopes
June 28, 2017 at 8:06 pmI had seen chalkboard paint before but hadn’t come across anyone who had tried it. Always good to see the photos, especially when in use!
Charlotte Greene
June 28, 2017 at 9:53 pmThis is such an interesting way to repurpose something! I’ve always wanted to have a chalk paint wall in my house somewhere, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to take the leap. Maybe doing something small like this would be a good stepping stone for me! PS Love the little rock-ladybugs <3
Sarah Bailey
June 28, 2017 at 10:27 pmWhat an awesome idea for a DIY, I love that it is so simple to do and pretty cheap as well – great make for the summer holiday.
Andrea @ The Petite Cook
June 28, 2017 at 11:42 pmWhat a great idea, I’m sure as a kid I would have loved something like this 🙂
Sarah
June 30, 2017 at 8:00 pmWhat a lovely idea! I love the look of cable reels!
Summer painted bee and ladybird rocks - the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
May 14, 2020 at 12:17 pm[…] played with our painted bee and ladybird rocks in the garden. We made enough that they could play noughts and crosses with them but they are also for decorating our fairy […]