Monday Made It

 

I am so excited to participate in my first Monday Made It (sorry it is Tuesday, at 3:00 in the morning lol) link up hosted by4th Grade Frolics!! What an amazing idea, Thank You! I have one Monday Made It this week, I am pretty excited about it!

 

 

I love using pocket charts in the classroom, however, finding colors to match my theme(s) is very hard. I know we all have that large blue pocket chart, you know that one I am talking about, the one that was most likely passed down to you or you bought it because other options are hard to find! It is now time to pull that buddy out and transform it into the color of your choice using what you probably already have, SPRAY PAINT! A teacher can change the whole look of her classroom with spray paint, it is kind of addicting!

 

Here are the supplies you will need to transform your pocket chart. I took this picture after with all the items I actually used. The first picture I took was outdated by the time I finished! That is why you do not see the red pocket chart or purple paint. At first, I was going to attempt to sew, but after one stitch by hand I knew glue was my best friend! I already had this super glue at home, thanks to my husband.

 

 

1. Pocket Chart- When spraying I noticed the mint green was easier to spray on the bright green and pink on red. In this post I used purple on a red pocket chart and it was harder in my opinion. I should of used blue with the purple!

2. Spray Paint- Gloss is better then satin. I used the Rust-Oleum pictured above and I liked it, great for plastic too!!

3. Rust-Oleum Nozzle

4. Tape- I used the thicker painters tape so I could fold it over and didn't have to use two strips. I used the skinnier tape when folding down the pockets.

5. Super Glue

6. Magic Eraser

7. Gloves

8. Ribbon, Washi Tape, Border, etc. - I kept it pretty simple when adding this so it didn't take to much away from the materials I will put in it. I will try using a stencil later on and other décor to make them unique to certain lessons/centers.

9. Goo-Gone and/or Rubbing Alcohol (Not Pictured)- I used this to help remove paper that accidently stuck on the pocket and the sticky residue from tape.

 

If you sew you may not need the super glue or the embellishment to cover the sides, I used it to cover the glue and I really like it.

 

So here we go!

 

 

 

Next time I will place a piece of paper/cardstock between the plastic and tape on both sides. Some of the residue was hard to remove. I would also make sure I went up a little more with the tape for a thicker line to hide any of the original color that might show in the crease. Not to much more than above, just a little.

 

 

The white strips of thin cardboard shown here came with the pocket chart.

 

 

Once both sides of the pocket are covered you may spray the back now or wait until after you are done with the front.

 

  

 

 

 

Take it slow and use thin coats to avoid puddles and runs with the paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can also do this before you fold the pockets and put tape on the back.

 

When you are all done spraying you finally get to......

 

 

Removing all of the tape you spent forever putting on is a great feeling!!

 

However, then my friend Mr. Red shows up again! I checked it and it looked ok while spraying. You may need to pull the pocket back a little and spray down there. When I did the pink on red this wasn't noticeable because they colors were not so different like these are. This will be covered up when you put things in the pockets.

 

 

However.... I am kind of meticulous so the red was bugging me!!

 

I added tape again on the front only, I made sure to cover the whole pocket except for what I was spraying (a thicker line).  You can get the over spray off with a magic eraser but it is so much easier just to cover every pocket on the top real quick.

 

If needed, clean the pockets after your all done spraying.

 Yeah, I was so excited!!!

 

 

You only need a little dot of glue if you use super glue, it will spread and cover the area. When you are gluing do not put the chart on the table and press down to adhere or your finger behind it, the glue seeps to the back a little! I learned this the hard way, my poor table and finger! I just held it up and pressed on the front. It dried pretty fast! If you sew, you may just want to use a clear thread instead of glue. You can now choose your item to run down the sides to hide the glue!! With the thicker washi on the pink one I did use a little bit of glue to help it adhere to the chart.

 

And, your done!!! I would LOVE to see your pics!!

 

 

Sorry about the pic! It was hard to take a picture with it hanging and the plastic pockets.

 

Lessons Learned and Suggestions

 

1. Use gloves when spray painting. The paint on your hands will get on the pocket when you remove the tape!

 

2. Use a strip of paper or cardstock between the tape and the pocket on both sides. I originally just used the strip that it came with because it was already there, but it really helped! This will save you time later! I had to remove some of the residue from the tape and it wasn't easy.

 

3. Glossy spray paint was easier to use than satin. The satin tended to make little puddles and run.

 

4. Use colors that compliment each other. When I sprayed the red with purple as seen above, it was a lot harder than the pink on red. If the red showed a little bit in at the bottom of the pocket it wasn't as noticeable. A blue pocket chart would of been a lot better for the purple. I know I have said this a million times!! LOL

 

5. Take your time and use thin coats. The thread takes a little more paint to cover.

 

 Thank you for stopping by!!

Now go buy some spray paint and turn that old blue pocket chart into something you LOVE!!

 

 

 

 

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