Baby Shower Gift Bucket with Chalkboard Paint

Whew…I know it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted.  Lots changing, lots to do.  I hope to be better about it this summer.  And that’s where the Baby Shower Gift Bucket comes in.  One of my best friends at work was pregnant this year.  Now she said that she didn’t want a shower at school, but I figured I wanted to do something.  Boring gift card…not for this girl.  So I thought up the idea for this gift basket (or bucket).

I was so proud of how the bucket turned out….and BONUS-the bucket itself was super easy and cheap.

Here’s what you need for the bucket…the other supplies are up to you:

• Bucket
• Black paint
• Plaster of Paris
• Warm water
• Something to stir the paint (I used a plastic spoon)
• Baby gifts to fill the bucket

I started with a bucket from the Dollar Tree (one of my favorite crafting stores after Michael’s).  I wanted to dress it up a little, so I decided to spice it up with a little chalkboard paint.

To make it easy on myself, I decided to do the chalkboard piece as a square.  I used masked tape to tape off the rectangle and made sure to press down the edges so none of the paint would leak and I’d have sharp edges.  I used the ridges already on the container as a guide.

As far as the paint goes, I had looked up a lot of recipes for homemade chalkboard paint and none seemed to be consistent.  Some said equals parts for paint, Plaster of Paris, and water…others, 1-2 tablespoons Plaster of Paris to one cup of paint.  Quite a difference, huh?  So what do I do with this big of discrepancy?  Improvise and trial and error-the best kind of crafting.  I ended putting about 2 tablespoons of Plaster of Paris into about 1/3 cup of paint.  Then I added a few drops of water (3 or 4) and stirred with a plastic spoon.  I went by feel…I wanted it to be a little gritty and not too watery.  That doesn’t sound super helpful, does it?  It’s easier than you think.  If it doesn’t work, just wipe the paint off or paint over.

This is where I was surprised.  I thought since it was black paint it would cover in one coat.  But it took not one, not two, not three, but four coats of paint to completely cover and get it to the right thickness. (Did I add too much water?  The world will never know.)   If you’re impatient (like me), use a fan between coats to speed drying.  When the paint is COMPLETELY dry, peel off the tape.

As a very type A person, this part was the stuff dreams are made of.  Those clean, sharp lines….beautiful.

But I digress.  Next, you have to “season” the chalkboard.  I laugh because seasoning seems so cooking-oriented.  A little sea salt, some pepper…..not in this project.  To prime the chalkboard, you have to cover the chalkboard with chalk before you write anything on it.  Use the long side of the chalk and cover the whole chalkboard part.  Then erase.  Your chalkboard is now ready for real, less messy chalk.

Since my bucket was focused on bathtime gifts for the new baby, I found a cute saying online and wrote it on the chalkboard with chalk, then filled the bucket with all kinds of bathtime goodies.  My basket included: bath crayons, baby shampoo, foam bath letters, water cups, and a hooded alligator bath towel (my personal favorite item).

My coworker loved it, I loved it, and I think it was a hit.