Craft day.

Materials for one crafty afternoon:
  One cabinet door
  One paintbrush
  One small jar chalkboard paint
  One box chalk
Optional:
  One beer

Method:
Find an unused cabinet door at your friend's restaurant and take it home with you, taking care to determine the closeness of the friendship when gauging permissions required to leave with property.

Visit your local craft store and purchase chalkboard paint, a brush, and some chalk.  Return home and prep cabinet door with masking tape.

Paint with three coats of chalkboard paint.  Watch paint dry.  Alternately, head to Wyman's #5 pub down the street for a Denver beer.  Congratulate yourself for upcycling and blog about it.  Return home.

Remove tape and place your new chalkboard somewhere you are likely to check messages you have written yourself.

Cost including optional not-watching-paint-dry method:
One cabinet door, free.
One sponge brush, $.39
One jar chalkboard paint, $6.99
One box fancy chalk $5.99
One beer, $4.50
Total cost including tip and tax: $20

I have crafted.