easy chalkboard diy
So, as you are probably aware, I've started my summer market season. As of right now I am doing a weekly farmers market and then throwing in some speciality markets along the way. I've been confirmed for one market that is once per month for July and August. I'm awaiting word on 3 other markets. One market would be one day in July. Another market would be a two day event later this fall. And the last would be weekend markets this fall as well. What I'm learning, and what I mentioned in my last post, is that the markets all seem to be different. Different audiences, different interests. I don't know why I didn't think of this before. But I guess I was just kind of like 'a market is a market'. And that is so short sighted on my part! So. I'm now considering each market as its own individual market. It's a speciality, regardless of location, set up, audience, etc. I'll think about it this way. And now that I am, I'm considering my setup for each one. And the restrictions that will be in place for each one. And my weekly market we are cordoned off behind rope. This means that people can't walk up to my table and touch things. Which is good. But it also means I need to find new ways to display my items and my signage. Which brings me to this post. I was looking for a chalkboard so I could display my prices, tell more about my business, etc. etc. But I couldn't find anything that a) I could afford, b) that was portable, and c) that was within a few miles from where I live. So. What's a girl to do? Make one herself! And I thought I would show you guys how I did it. It's so easy! And it costs me? Zero! I had everything on hand already. And thankfully I have a handy Mister. I'll explain why in just a minute.
Gather Your Supplies
At first I couldn't figure out what I had in the house that I could turn into a chalkboard, but then I went looking around and found a picture frame! Ah ha! And I did a little research via pinterest and thought I could use the glass as the actual chalkboard. The frame was kind of ugly and I knew we had some white paint. We have lots of leftover paint that has been used through the years. More on that in a minute. And I knew we had sandpaper and paint brushes so I was all set. This all started on Sunday. And by Sunday evening I had everything pulled out and ready to rock and roll for Monday morning. I pulled out the chalkboard paint I had leftover from painting the huge chalkboard wall (that is still awaiting finishing!), some white primer and paint all-in-one-flat-finish paint, the picture frame, the paint brushes and the sandpaper and the got busy first thing Monday morning (I took the week off from mowing).
Do a little dance...or uh...sanding!
We (the Mister helped!) did a light sanding of the frame and then we used rubbing alcohol to wash away the dust. We let that dry for a few minutes (all this was done outside and it was very hot and humid so dry time was nil). Then we opened that can of paint/primer-in-one. Oh boy! It was so old it was separated and gross. Thank goodness we have lots of leftover paint! Hehe. I really wanted the flat paint though. But sometimes the best laid plans, right. So we compromised on the rustoleum paint. It actually turned out okay. The paint was so thick and so nice that I just brushed it on and let the wood underneath shine through. Originally I was going to distress the white paint on the frame, but the paint did such a good job that no distressing was needed.
But. The glass. Oh that glass. I read a couple of different pinterest pins about how to use chalkboard paint on glass (mirrors, windows, picture frame glass), but as you can see it wasn't a success. More like a pinterest fail! I think I should have roughed up the glass first with the sandpaper. I don't recall the instructions saying to do this, but I didn't do it. And then I used rubbing alcohol to wash down in between coats. Oh. The instructions were to paint a light coat, let dry, then sand. Then paint, let dry, then sand. And then paint a final coat. Thank goodness for resourceful Misters! We have luan just lying around (from all those projects this past spring). So he measured and then cut me a piece to fit the frame. So I gave the luan three coats of paint (drying in between each coat, no sanding needed).
So then after everything was dry we put it all together to get a good feel for how it will look. I love it! It looks exactly as I envisioned it. I will say that the Mister cut the luan too long and had to cut it again. Isn't there a saying about measuring twice and cutting once? That's not how we do things here. Because of this cutting twice business there were a few little chips at the bottom. But that's okay. I used a little crafting paint to fill it in. And I think it only adds to its homemade charm. My market aesthetic is brown, black, ticking, homemade, rustic. So it fits right in.
Final Stages
So the last thing that needed to be done (well, not THE last but the last to prep it for using) was to 'season' the chalkboard. You take a piece of chalk and rub it on the newly finished chalkboard. Then wipe it off with a clean cloth. It gives it the patina and fills in all the cracks, lumps, and bumps. Once this step is done, you are ready to write, draw, whatever! It's so easy. And honestly, I had a rough day yesterday of wasting my time on some crafting projects. It was so frustrating. I was going to print off some fancy script from the internet and do the 'reverse' drawing where you put chalk on the back of the paper and then transfer it to the chalkboard. But y'all I was tapped out of creativity. So I just decided on my handwriting instead. It's fine. It's not exactly what I'm looking for but it will do for this week. I'm debating ordering these chalkboard pens just so it will look nicer. I think if I had the pens I could do the reverse drawing. If I do, you'll be the first to know! All that's left to do now is build a stand for it. And that's the Misters job. Hehe.
The results!
Whatd'ya think? Not bad, huh? I love it. It'll work just fine. And it was so easy. Happy crafting friends!
'til next time
-k
xoxo