Make a chalkboard out of an old cabinet door.

I was cleaning out my old shed and found this door off of one of my old cabinets.  I threw it into the fire, and literally pulled it back out when I realized that maybe I could make something out of it.  My idea - a chalkboard.  

Here's how I did it.

First I cleaned it and sanded it down.  I left a lot of the old varnish so that the paint would look distressed.  I took off the old door handle but left the rusty hinges for an authentic effect.

Next I painted it with several coats of black chalkboard paint.

After allowing the black chalkboard paint to dry overnight, I taped off the chalkboard so that I could paint the frame around the outside.  I also taped the hinges so that they would not get paint on them.  I started with coat of white paint.  I did this so that it would have a multiple color effect when I sanded it.  

Then I painted a cream color over the white layer

I sanded down the edges to make it look old and distressed.  

Then I added the hardware.  I took an new handle and painted it with black paint.  Then I dabbed rust and brown craft paint over it to make it look old and rusty to match the hinges.

We used a chalk marker to write on it for a wedding that we had in our backyard.  Doesn't it look awesome!

Then I was able to use it on my mantle for a Christmas decoration.  I can't wait to use it all year for whatever holiday comes next.