Hello! My Name Is... Herb

The great thing about chalkboards is that you can wipe them clean and start over whenever you want… I love that. I have two chalkboards in my kitchen that I use all the time. The one my Hubby and I made when we moved in here is one of my very favorite things. Both boards sport to-do lists, groceries needed, etc. on any given day of the year. Super handy.

Here today, gone before you know it
Needless to say, I love the look of chalkboard-craftiness as much as the next person, but practicality prevents me from using it for labeling my mason jars or identifying my herbs in the garden or any other alternative use where it's particular type of temporality (temporariness?) is not really a benefit. In other words, anywhere the writing is likely to get smudged off prematurely.

I need some cilantro... stat!
However, spring has finally sprung and I need to know my cilantro from my parsley at a glance (and Hubs needs to know too, as I often find myself in the middle of cooking and need him to snip some herbs for me). Mind you, we normally can tell the difference between our plants, but we've added a lot of new herbs this year… and well... plant markers are cute. There. I've said it.


The look that will last
As there's no budget for cute plant markers, I looked around for what I already had that I could use for the purpose. Hubby's side of the garage is always full of potential, so I plundered his stash of stuff, found a bunch of paint stirrers and a can of black primer, and came up with these….

Faux-Chalkboard Plant Markers

Materials:

Paint stirrers

Primer

Flat black spray paint

White craft paint (in a tube or bottle with a writing tip)*

Clear spray-on polyurethane

Newspaper or drop cloth

Something to lay the stirrers across is handy for keeping them from getting stuck to the paper while you paint (chopsticks work well).

Directions:

1. Paint the sticks with primer on all sides and edges. Let dry.
2. Spray them with flat black paint. Two coats; letting dry in between.
3. Write plant names on the front with white paint. Let dry completely.
4. Spray sticks on all sides and edges with clear satin sealer. Two coats; letting dry between.
5. Shove in the dirt near a plant with the same name as on the marker.
6. Never worry about confusing the oregano with the spearmint ever again.

*I used Slick Dimensional Fabric Paint by Tulip but any white "writable" paint should work (always test first).