A few months ago, my mom gave me an old crock pot that was passed around the family a bit, but no one needed it. It's not exactly the prettiest thing in the world, but I like that it's small and that Nick and I can use it for meals for the two of us, rather than pulling out our 5 quart crock pot.
I thought that using some leftover chalkboard paint would be a fun way to spruce this baby up!
Here's what you need!
- 2 quart crock pot
- Rustoleum Specialty ChalkBoard Paint
- Paint brush
- Painter's tape or masking tape
- Chalk
Here's what you do!
- Tape off all the edges you want to keep free from paint.
- Paint it! After the first coat has dried for 4 hours, add a second coat. We only needed 2 coats for our crock pot.
- After the paint has completely dried, very carefully remove the tape. Have a razor handy to cut any edges that may cause your paint to peel up.
- Using a fine paint brush, tough up the edges if necessary.
- Allow the paint to dry for 3 days before conditioning it for writing. To condition the crock pot, you rub the side of a piece of chalk over the entire surface and wipe it clean with a damp rag or paper towel.
- Start writing! (And cooking!)
We tried doing a little research online to determine if the chalkboard paint is heat-safe, but we couldn't find much. So we decided to guinea pig this little project and are happy to report that it appears to work perfectly! I'm sure crock pot brands/styles will vary, but it seems like most of the heat in our crock pot stays in the crock itself and doesn't transfer to the outside/painted part. So no bubbling or peeling paint - all worked well!
Older crock pots like ours don't typically have removable crocks, so the entire crock pot has to be washed when we clean it. This means we'll likely have to recondition our paint frequently, but I see that as the only drawback!
Our new and improved crock pot is perfect for parties or potlucks. I mean, how many times have you been to a potluck and thought, "Hmm... I can't quite tell what's in that crock pot." Well with a little chalk you can make it plain as day right on the outside! This is also super convenient for labeling not only what your dish is, but if there's any dietary restrictions eaters should know about, i.e. "Contains nuts!" or in our case, "Dairy free!"
Have an old crock pot you'd like to give a makeover to? Give this method a try! And be sure to let us know in the comments, we'd love to see!
Sarah & Nick
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