chalkboard in a vintage frame

i love chalkboards.

i hope they never go out of style.

i love the dark charcoaly color.

i love that you can adapt them for any holiday or occasion or mood. 

i love that you can make them yourself. 

so our big chalkboard in the kitchen was starting to look a little worse for the wear.

okay a lot worse for the wear.

the thing was falling apart.

from a distance, with your eyes squinted, it looked okay.

up close, not so much.

this chalkboard was actually a mess from the beginning.
i had found the big ol' vintage frame in a thrift store in kansas about a year and a half ago.
i fell in love with the frame and knew it had to be a chalkboard.
when i brought it home, i just shoved an old chalkboard i had on hand into the back of it and attempted to staple gun it into place.
except the chalkboard was the wrong size.
and staple gunning it kinda broke the frame.
and the chalkboard was stained and weird.
the whole thing was just kind of a disaster.

but i lovelovelove the frame and wanted to make it work.
i love the scuffs.
i love the line of muted teal paint.
i really loved the linen-esque inner frame but i had to lose that part because it was just too beat up from me messing with it.

soooo, i finally got around to fixing it.
i consulted my own method of making a huge chalkboard and then went to the place where dreams come true, a.k.a., Lowe's, to get the materials.
i was hoping there'd be something just the right size sitting by the wood cutter.
{here's a tip for you....usually behind the wood cutter, they put extra scraps of wood or hardboard, or whatever has been recently cut that you can have for free....always check there first!}
no such luck.

the last time i made a chalkboard, i used a big piece of hardboard.
that works great.
this time, i spied a piece of wood paneling on clearance and noticed that the back side was smooth.

front:

back:

score.

i had the lovely people at Lowe's cut it down to size for me.
by the way, i had triple measured my frame before i left so that the finished chalkboard would fit perfectly in the frame.

then i just followed the directions on the back of the can...i.e. paint a coat, let it dry for six hours, sand, repeat.

by the way, i prefer brush on chalkboard paint to the spray paint for something that's going to be used regularly.
if it's just a decorative piece that won't get changed out regularly, the spray paint is fine.

sometimes people ask me how i have time for projects or crafts.
well, i don't have nearly as much as i'd like.
but when i do, i usually have little "helpers" near by who like to paint along with me. :)

after 3 coats, i was ready to put it in the frame.
i ran a line of liquid nails on the inside of the frame and then shoved the board in.
some of the liquid nails oozed out the front so i had to wipe it away with a wet cloth and then when it dried, i ended up sanding the board again and giving it one last coat of chalkboard paint.

then you "season" the board by rubbing the side of clean piece of white chalk all over it.

then erase and you're done!

this really is not hard at all and then you have your own unique chalkboard with tons of character. 

i love it.

this whole project cost me about 5 bucks. 

which is amazing considering how much people sell these things for at boutiques.

high way robbery.

save your cash, do it yourself. :)) 

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