All The World’s A Kid’s Stage
Whether you have a brand new baby on the way, growing children itching to unleash their imaginations, or a combination of both, Versachalk has the tools to immerse your young ones in a world of colorful dreams. A chalkboard playhouse for a toddler’s tea party? An opportunity for a creative kindergartner to bedeck a porcelain figurine in dazzling color? Together, we can do all that and more.
Here are some great project ideas we’ve found that are sure to delight the little ones in your household.
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Shout it from the rooftop (or windows)!
Few events generate more excitement than a birth announcement. With liquid chalk markers, you can make a big splash by proclaiming the baby’s name and ‘stats’ in dynamic colors. Use a chalkboard for a timeless look, or get creative in choosing your canvas, because liquid chalk can be used on a wide variety of surfaces—glass, metal, porcelain, vinyl, solid plastic, slate, granite, laminated counters and glazed ceramic, to name a few.
A fun game for those showers without water
If you have chosen to let the gender of your newborn be a delivery room surprise, why not let your friends and family join in on the fun? At your baby shower, ask everyone to guess the baby’s gender and birth weight. Record each guess in a colorful display like the one shown below. With or without a prize for the best guess, the game will keep everyone buzzing with anticipation right up until the big day.
Go figure
Children past the toddler stage don’t just want to see bright colors, they want to make them—everywhere! Look for projects that turn that creative drive into a lasting keepsake, such as decorating porcelain figurines. Porcelain makes a great canvas for liquid chalk—a dustless, non-messy, non-toxic way to decorate. Help your kids sketch out a design on paper to follow, or just let them wing it.
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The outdoor playhouse
Room within a room, house within a house
All children love to play pretend. There is no greater thrill for them than to have a ‘secret’ space all their own, where they are free from those annoying intrusions of adults and reality. With chalkboard contact paper applied to its walls, an outdoor playhouse can become anything from a simple tent to a pirate ship to a castle to a lunar lander.
But why not create a magical space for your children indoors, too? Kids have always loved sleeping in a tent set up on the living room floor, but these days, you can take that idea to a whole new level.
Check out this geodesic play dome fashioned out of cardboard made by Rachel Faul. Make your version by spraying on chalk paint and finishing off with a primer
(like Velspar Optimus Primer), so you can design on it with liquid chalk.
With its fascinating geometric shape, a geodesic dome will stimulate little ones’ minds as they splash on loads of color with waterproof neon liquid chalk markers. Simply apply chalkboard contact paper to create a chalk marker-friendly surface. The vinyl paper comes in rolls or sheets that you and your children can cut to fit each panel of the dome. No need for glue or tape; just peel away the backing sheet and let the adhesive back work its magic. For downloadable plans and patterns for making your own geodesic dome, click here.
To create more of a camping feel, 'pitch' a plastic tent or teepee. If you don’t want to build a tent from scratch, companies like Pacific Play Tents sell both kits and ready-made models. Kids love putting things together, so let them participate in the assembly. Easier still, arrange two or three chalkboards into a simple fort, with exterior walls perfect for writing that all-important message in blazing colors: “KIDS ONLY! GROWN-UPS KEEP OUT!”
If these walls could chalk
If your kids think big, they will love showcasing their liquid chalk masterpieces on an entire wall. Creating chalkboard walls gives them that opportunity. Whether the result is an elaborate mural, a carefully measured illustration of a house, or a delightful but slightly less architecturally sound design, children will love seeing their dreams in larger-than-life size.
These are two versions of chalkboard walls with a house theme. One is traditional and properly measured.
The other is free form and haphazard, but fun.
Banish boredom with the multi-purpose playtime board
With either a slate chalkboard (for a rustic look), or a porcelain steel chalkboard (for the additional versatility of adding magnets) as the foundation, add shelves to hold books and drawing tools, a bar with plastic hooks, and a sheet roller. The chalkboard provides a perfect surface for chalk marker art, while the sheet roller enables children to paint and draw exotic masterpieces to exhibit elsewhere.
The roller shown here holds traditional brown paper, but you can also extend your children’s chalk art world even further by replacing the paper with chalkboard vinyl sheets.
The mud-less mudroom
Whether you live in a classic house with a built-in mudroom, or an apartment with a simple entry hallway, everyone needs a place to dump outdoor stuff so it won’t get the rest of the home dirty. For a contemporary take on the traditional mudroom, put up a chalkboard, or apply chalkboard contact paper to a wall to serve as a bulletin board. It’s a great place for a family message center, since everyone enters and exits there daily.
Complement the large panel with smaller slate boards—one for each kid—each with its own hook for hanging up jackets and backpacks. Children will love writing their names and adding drawings to the boards to claim a section of the room as their own.
Conclusion
Keeping the young ones entertained can be a full-time job. These are just some ideas to brighten up the ‘kids’ corners’ of your home. If you would like to add to these projects, or suggest a better way to execute them, do let us know. Just fill out the comment box below and click away.
NB: Many thanks to the manufacturers of children’s furniture, materials suppliers, porcelain and clay figurines, and creators of all projects mentioned here. You are all credited in the captions.
