Tin Activity Trays

So I have a toddler. A loud, boisterous, fun-loving, dare-devil, whirling dervish BOY toddler. My little man can turn a clean room into a disaster zone faster than you can blink an eye. He can leap off of furniture in the time it takes to yell 'NOOOOOO'. He can run faster than a gazelle (ok, I have never really tried to catch a gazelle but you get the point). So although a nice quiet activity book is in my list of crafty projects to complete (in evernote, I might add), it's scheduled start is a few months off. Yes, I schedule craft projects. Yes, I am odd. I know it, I embrace it, it's just who I am. Soooo back to the activity tray. Like I said, the little guy is a little, um...active. But we do still have those times when he needs to play quietly (like now, now would be a good time...no? ok then, resume jumping like jimmy supafly snooka off your piano stool)

Enter my awesome Dollar Store find. I was originally thinking uber cheap pottery barn-esque chalkboard tray. But then my crafty genius alter-ego had a brilliant idea... since the tray is tin (or, some sort of metal) and it's a small (12"x8" or so) I thought, why not make a magnetic, chalkboard activity tray for the peanut! It was oh-so-simple and oh-so-adorable. I wish I had taken a before and some during pictures, but when I started this, I wasn't thinking tutorial. So here's my explanation....

1. Paint incredibly cheap, $1 tin tray with spray paint, I used 3 coats for nice, solid coverage
2. Let the spray paint dry for a few days
3. Use chalkboard paint to paint the flat part of the tray, I used 3 coats of the chalkboard paint with a sponge brush
4. Let the chalkboard paint for several days to ensure that it is completely cured
5. Using painter's tape, completely mask off the chalkboard painted section
6. Paint one last coat of your chosen spray paint color (this step is to give a nice, crisp edge to the chalkboard part - if you have a steady hand and/or don't care about a crisp edge, steps 5 & 6 are certaintly not necessary)
7. Let the final coat of paint dry at least overnight and carefully peel off the tape
8. Cure the chalkboard part per the directions on the can
9. Sit back and admire your work!

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