Insert Chalkboard Here...

So, at the age of 9 months old my Little Man decided that crawling into our rock fireplace and playing in the ash was a GREAT idea.  Needless to say, I disagreed.  

Our fireplace on Easter Sunday 2014.

We love the smell of burning wood, and especially the atmosphere it creates in our home, but Little Man's adventurous spirit is not containable!  So it was again time to explore creative options for managing our little guy.  

We had already done research, and found this awesome product:
 Kidkusion Soft Seat Hearth Cushionpad

 

So after thinking about it, my brother mentioned something that was in his current rental home- a chalkboard in the fireplace opening.  I thought it was a brilliant idea.  So, my husband began working on cutting a piece of MDF board to size, and applying a coat of Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint to the smooth surface.  Did you know this comes in a variety of colors?

While I thought this was good enough for our purposes, my husband wanted to make sure that it was something I ended up loving.  (He's just good like that.)  

So he also used a piece of leftover trim from a previous project- stained it with some leftover wood stain, and Voila! We have a framed chalkboard.

Not too shabby for another inexpensive fix.  Think this whole project cost less than $15.  Plus Little Man and I have a great time drawing pictures, writing letters, and learning shapes on our little fireplace fixer.  But I will be glad when we can pop it out and have a roaring fire in another year or too.

Good luck on your next project!

KL