It's been awhile since I last posted, and with spring creeping in I'm thinking up new projects every day...just maybe not finishing them in a timely fashion with the nice weather and all! So here is a quick and easy craft project that really only takes a few hours and about $25 bucks!
Materials:
Ugly damaged painting with hard surface from Gordman's :
$17.00
Chalkboard Spray Paint:
$3.99
Random wood scraps from the hardware store:
$1.50
Craft Paint:
$1.00
Chalk:
$1.00
Glue stick and Glue Gun:
Free
Random other materials I never used:
couple bucks....
TOTAL $24.49
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| What a deal! On clearance from $59.99 |
I found this damaged painting at Gordman's for cheap and it was just what I was looking for. The thin frame and hard center textured surface was perfect for painting over and writing on once finished. Set up your work area outside and start to cover the board with even spray strokes of the chalkboard paint. It took about 30 minutes to completely cover the surface and dry to the touch!
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| First Coat |
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| Final Coat |
After the chalkboard paint dried to the touch I mixed up some white and antique white craft paint to match my cabinet color. I painted the frame, the ledge piece and the dowel that will later be used to hold the chalk on the board, and waited for it to dry while I admired my ruined finger nails...
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| Paint looks like an egg... |
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| Paint and ledge wood. |
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| 3 coats to cover the black frame edges. |
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| Pay close attention not to get any white on the chalkboard area! |
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| My Mom will be embarrassed my nails look this way! |
I let the board dry for 24 hours and headed out to celebrate St. Patty's day like any good Irish girl would do! The next day I found a cute quote I wanted to use for the header, "I kiss better than I cook" and a great technique to transfer it so my hand writing didn't look too much like Chicken Scratches! Once the chalkboard paint had dried the can instructions said to cover it with chalk, rub in with a towel and it would be easier to erase on so you don't have "Ghosting" images left behind.
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| Covering board with chalk then rub in with a towel. |
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| After board is wiped down with a towel lay the text out to position it. |
I printed these words out on 11 x 17 inch paper and cut the strips to lay in place. Make sure the type size and style fits the "look" you're going for. Next (and here's the cool part) flip the paper over and cover with chalk. Lay the chalk on it's side for better coverage, and really layer it on nice and thick. When you flip it over the chalk particles will fall everywhere so maybe don't wear black while working :). Carefully lay the text back down on the board and trace over it with a hard object such as a pen, and the words will be lightly transferred to the board. After the transfer simply trace over with chalk and viola - you too can have GREAT PENMANSHIP!
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| Rubbing Chalk on text back. |
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| Flip over and trace the letters to transfer the chalk to the board. |
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| Who knew it was so easy...Now just remove paper and fill in with Chalk! |
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| Almost Finished! |
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| Type looks great! |
Only a few more steps and the chalkboard will be ready to hang. I plugged in the hot glue gun after deciding I didn't want to go to all the time and effort to watch the wood glue dry! Took about 2 minutes to glue the ledge on, draw some swirly doodles on the board with colored chalk and hang in the kitchen. Easy project under 3 hours of work time - and it fills the space nicely!
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| Glue dowel to balsa wood ledge - Press into place. |
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| Ledge glued to board. |
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| Now just need to get my "To Do" list up there! |
Yep - really liking this project. Also like how detailed the instructions are - I'm all about the details! Wish we had room for a cool chalkboard in our kitchen, lord knows I have enough menus/to-do lists going that I'd have it full in 2 seconds. I'll plan to stick to our white boards on the fridge for now, but maybe I'll add this idea to another room in the house like the sun room or the office.
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