Mini Chalkboard Eraser (With Hidden Chalk Storage)

If you're the home crafty sort, I just bet that there's something in your house that you've covered with chalkboard paint. There are dozens of great ideas to make all sorts of cute home projects with a chalkboard surface.  But I have yet to see an equally inspiring design for a chalkboard eraser, and place to store the chalk. And what good it s chalkboard if you can't find a piece of chalk or eraser nearby? So I came up with a design for a sweet little eraser that has a compartment for chalk storage. Hang this puppy on the wall next to your chalkboard, and you'll have an eraser that you're as proud of as your chalkboard.

Oh, and did I mention that it's made out of almost entirely upcycled materials? Two Altoid (or similar) tins and scraps from an old sweater make up the base structure and the eraser pad. A little glue to hold things together, paint to make it look pretty, and voilà!  I used orange spray paint that I had leftover from a previous project and a simple hand-lettered title for my design, but (naturally) you can make yours with whatever design you like.

Step 1: Materials

Materials:
2 Altoid tins
part of an old sweater (you'll need about 4X10" rectangle)
2 part epoxy or another glue suitable for gluing metal to metal and fiber to metal.
paint (optional)
a few inches of wire or twine

Tools:
pliers
scissors
Steel wool, or a wire brush
razor knife
needle & thread

You could really make any size/shape of eraser using this scheme, but an Altoid tin fits spare chalk perfectly.  Whatever shape you choose, you'll need to get two tins that are exactly the same size. An old felted sweater (or other knitwear) makes a perfect eraser pad. The type of fiber doesn't matter too much, anything thick and knit will do the trick.

Comments

[PropPrintables]

Fantastic!!

[flintshopper]

Love this use of Altoid tins! 1 Hello Kitty + 1 Spidey sticker and everyone's happy with the new chalkboard and personal eraser. I went old-school and used an old piece of chamois stretched over cheap foam sponge for each one. Works great. It's a good thing you suggested the felt inside. The chalk would be destroyed when the kids pound the erasers together if not for the felt!

[kitchentablescraps]

LOL! I certainly did not think ahead to banging chalkboard erasers together. And I love your idea for the eraser pad, too-- I bet there are tons of repurposed fibers that would work equally well as an eraser pad. Glad to hear you and your kiddos are enjoying them!

[Ian01]

Faved and voted! You should enter this in the Up and Design contests too, and maybe Holiday Gifts.

[alaskantomboy]

Brilliant! I'm going to make one right away so I can stop using paper towels to clear off my many, chalkboard-covered things.

[mistyp]

Oh what a fun idea! Thanks for posting.