Countdown to Christmas

So, funny story about this project...I'd had it pinned on Pinterest for several years and never got around to making it.  When I was at Michael's earlier this year I saw that decorative chargers were on sale and made an impulse buy because, well, it was pretty and like, a dollar fifty.  I picked up a red one and a bottle of chalkboard paint and settled in the craft room to get down to finally making it.  I wiped off the charger with a wet towel, let it dry, and put on a coat of chalkboard paint following the instructions on the bottle (brush on a coat horizontally and then another one vertically).  I set it aside for a couple of days to dry while I unpacked my Christmas stuff.

As I was unpacking I opened a box and found THE SAME CHARGER, only purple instead of red.  Apparently I bought it after Christmas last year with the intention of making it this year.  I mean, it was the SAME CHARGER--detailed scalloped edges and everything.  My best friend and I had decided to scale back our gift-giving but I was still looking for something a little more for her present.  Since she and her husband graduated from TCU (go Frogs!) I knew their theme was purple so I made it for her.

I think two coats covered the chargers nicely, and by that I mean two times going up and down as well as side to side for the most even coverage.  I let them dry for 24 hours (minimum) between coats as well as between the last coat and the writing.  The paint said to cover the surface with chalk to "condition" the dried paint so I did that and then cleaned it all off.  Using chalkboard marker (paint pen would work, too!) I wrote a semi-permanent message on it with the intention of updating the count each day in plain old chalk.  The last step is to make a BIG bow and hot glue it to the top.  I'm a fan of the jaunty side bow:

I just realized my handwriting is much straighter on hers than on mine, haha!  Oh well. 

If you're giving this as a gift allow yourself a few days for drying time--a minimum of three full days.  I wrapped a little plate/frame stand and a plastic bag with a couple of pieces of chalk in it and that's what I gave to her first.  She was (understandably) confused until I pulled out the charger.  I didn't wrap it because I didn't want to squish the bow, but if you do need to wrap it a bag would probably be best. 

Have fun!

Adi