You may have noticed this chalk board in the pictures from my adventures at my first market. With a little engineering help from Richard, I created this diy easel chalk board from a table top.
The table top came from the same coffee table that I took the drawer from to make the message center/ jewelry display.
After detaching it from the base, I removed those lovely rails and filled all the holes (gluing pieces of dowel in the larger holes) and sanded smooth. I painted the top with home made chalk board paint and used regular black latex paint on the back side.
Now for the fun part, making an easel. This took a couple of tries. The first time around, Richard simply attached a 1 x 2 to the back with an old cabinet hinge he had in his stash.
Unfortunately, this just wasn’t sturdy enough. We were working on this the night before the show, then it sold pretty quickly, and I didn’t get a picture of the final configuration. So, I’ll show you a little diagram instead. (The black and gray areas are the original table top.) The 1×2’s shown in purple were assembled with screws, then attached to the table-turned-easel with two hinges (the red boxes). Much better!
To finish it up, we rounded the bottom edge of the leg with a rasp and tacked a piece of rubber tubing over it. Added rubber feet to the bottom of the easel (also found in Richard’s stash), and glued a fleur de lis to each of the top corners. Oh, and we attached a short piece of chain to the leg and back of the easel with eye screws to keep it from opening too far.
As I mentioned in my post about the market, this diy easel chalk board sold to one of the other vendors, a perfect size to welcome people to their booth.
Ok, I’ve used the drawer and the table top- now, what to do with those legs….
Doodles,
Partying here:
Miss Mustard Seed, French Country Cottage, Funky Junk Interiors, Roadkill Rescue, Serenity Now, Classy Clutter, Home Stories A2Z
Hey, I'm Sheila, and I'm so glad you're here! Stick around for a doodle of fun, faith, and furniture. Want to learn more? 
not surprised it sold right away! what a wonderful repurpose.
hope you’ll stop by and follow if you aren’t already!
smiles.
michele
michele@hellolovelyinc recently posted..chignons, sofia, and gratitude
This is a wonderful piece! I’m nor surprised it sold quickly! I love the tutorial; thanks for sharing it! Love the way you repurposed the table top!
Betsy(@coastal-colors) recently posted..One Remake Can Cause Another [Table Remake]
Hi Sheila,
I don’t know how I found you, but I’m a lover of purple, too and had to read your blog just because it’s named PlumDoodles! Love your humor and craft projects! Hope to be a regular follower!
Gail
Gail recently posted..Bleached Fall Leaves
Love this! This is so creative.
Morgan recently posted..Gold ‘Dipped’ Pumpkins & Our Trip to the Patch
Hi darling, how creative is this? I love the transformaton. Genius! I’m glad it sold quickly for you.
thanks for swinging in and leaving such a sweet comment. hugs ~lynne~
Ohhhh, I like it! What a creative idea – turned out so neat!
Hi Shelia! That is amazing how perfectly you filled those holes. Is Richard your hubby? I have a Richard hubby, that’s why I ask
You guys did a great job on this. Thank you for stopping over at my place today. I was thinking…maybe you could do an eggplant purple on your door and no one will know the difference? I can see how you love purple. I love it too! I had a purple tricycle as a kid and it stuck 
Have a great day Sheila…~ Julie
Sheila,
This is awesome! You are so creative – genius idea! It is a perfect size for a vendor and I bet it will be great welcoming people to a booth. I am looking forward to see what you come up with for the legs.
I love your blog, Sheila! This is a wonderful idea! ~Jo