I upcycled an old wooden tray to make this handy chalkboard tray!
![Chalkboard Tray Tutorial by Craftulate Chalkboard Tray Tutorial by Craftulate](https://media.craftulate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/chalkboard-tray-tutorial.jpg)
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First I cut a piece of chalkboard contact paper to the size of the tray and carefully stuck it to the inside of the tray. I thought that this would be super tricky to get perfectly flat but because the paper can be repositioned I could just lift and retry it. So it was just a case of working fairly carefully and smoothing out any air bubbles as I went.
![Chalkboard Tray Tutorial Chalkboard Tray Tutorial](https://media.craftulate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/chalkboard-tray-tutorial-1.jpg)
Then the contact paper needs to be “cured”, sort of like seasoning a wok I suppose! This is done by rubbing the long edge of a piece of chalk over the paper and then wiping off with a felt eraser. For more handy tips about using this contact paper, see here.
![Chalkboard Tray Tutorial Chalkboard Tray Tutorial](https://media.craftulate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/chalkboard-tray-tutorial-2.jpg)
Then the chalkboard was ready to use! I put some chalk and an eraser in a pail to keep things tidy.
![Chalkboard Tray Tutorial Chalkboard Tray Tutorial](https://media.craftulate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/chalkboard-tray-tutorial-3.jpg)
I showed it to F and he immediately started scribbling. The white chalk worked better than the coloured chalk for some reason. But he really loved rubbing off the chalk!
We’ve now had this for a week and he’s played with it every day. F loves handing me the chalk and calling out letters, animals or “choo choo” for me to draw. I just love that!
The tray has ended up living in my husband’s study, with a vague hope that F will play with this rather than my husband’s computer! Plus it also means that we can leave messages for Daddy to find!
![Chalkboard Tray Tutorial Chalkboard Tray Tutorial](https://media.craftulate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/chalkboard-tray-tutorial-4.jpg)
This activity was part of our Black Crafts and Activities week.