How to Make a DIY Chalkboard
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Having a chalkboard in your home can be fun and functional, and it’s easy to make a DIY Chalkboard for any area.
I’m a doodler, and a list maker too. I have list of lists, and pieces of paper scattered around with my to-dos, groceries to get, and random reminders. After realizing that my lists were fine and dandy for me, what I’ve realized is that the rest of the family’s requests were not making it to my list. And my list is the one that requests ultimately need to be on if it’s gonna get got, because I’m the getter or the getter sender. Got it? Good.Anyway, I decided to make an attempt at getting all our lists together on one giant list. I settled on a DIY chalkboard, conveniently placed in the heart of the kitchen for everyone to access. I’m pretty handy with things, but I’m also blessed with my own handy man, Randy, who also serenades me with song, and can do a mean shadow puppet on the fly. Handy Randy took charge of this one for me. I told him what I was thinking as far as size goes, and that I wanted a simple chalkboard without a frame, nothing fancy.
It was done in no time. Wanna see how?
You’ll need:
wood (cut to desired finished size – we bought 3/4″ x 20″ x 8′ pine board (poplar would be nice too)
a paintbrush for the primer
a small foam paint roller, for applying the chalkboard paint
wall hooks (if hanging on a wall)
Randy purchased the wood at our home improvement store. We used a 3/4″ x 20″ x 8′ pine board (poplar would be nice too).
It was already the perfect width, so while at the store, he had them cut it down to the correct length, which saved some work time back at home.
He began with a good coat of primer. We had some tinted primer left over from another project, as well as an old paintbrush. It’s always nice when leftovers come in handy. The primer doesn’t have to be tinted, it’s just what we had leftover.
Once the primer was dry, two coats of the chalkboard paint were rolled on, with proper dry times in between each coat.
When everything was dry, Randy attached basic d-ring hangers (similar to these) so the chalkboard would hang flat. The hangers are hardly noticeable, so I haven’t messed with them, but they could easily be painted the wall color in order to blend in, or fancied up with bows or the like.
That’s it. What a quick and easy project. Now we have one giant list for everyone to use. No excuses now for me to forget the milk, huh? In addition to the grocery list, it’s fun to leave notes for each other, and get input on dinner ideas as they think of things.
What a great gift this would make with a box of colored chalk and an eraser. Or maybe a fun addition to a child or teen’s room? I can think of a few other places where a chalkboard would come in handy.
Do you have any chalkboard ideas to share? Please do!
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I love, love, love this idea!
One day we will have a chalkboard wall in our home!
Such a great idea and your doodles are perfect, too! You found the perfect spot in your kitchen for it!
We have a huge white board in the hallway off of our information center and goodness gracious does it get used! I just need to be better about having pretty doodles, too! 🙂
Love it!
love, Love, LOVE! I was thinking about this but then worried it would look muddy when I erased things. Do you just use a sponge to make it look shiny and new again?
Hey Georgia!
I’ve just been using a slightly damp paper towel to wipe it clean when I start new, with a blank board again. In between, I use a regular, old fashioned eraser to “mark” things off the list.
Amy
I love this! I spray paint lunch boxes with chalkboard paint and fill them with cookies!
So cute! Does it erase easily, or does it leave streaky streaks?
Hey Lori!
I’ve been using a regular eraser most of the time and it erases fine, but to get it neat and clean and really black (because I like the way it looks), I just use a slightly damp paper towel and wipe it down. Also, read the comment above from Susan about priming the board, etc.
Amy
Ooooh! thanks for mentioning the “priming” step. totally overlooked that!
You are awesome! Love the chalk board in such a convenient location that everyone can reach. I think I might need to ring a bell for my full time handy man to do the same for me!
That looks so nice in your kitchen Amy! Love, love, love making my own chalkboards. I have an old mirror that I’m working on now for over my desk.
love this! i created a dry erase board not long ago because we needed a place to write it all! this is fantastic for my kid’s play room!
My hubby once painted an entire wall in the boys’ bedroom with chalkboard paint. It was pretty awesome except for when we had to paint over it….
We have a big ol’ school house chalk board in our kitchen. I write the week’s schedule on one side and other random things around. I also write any names of family and friends who need prayers. Then whenever one looks at the board, that person is remembered and maybe even a little prayer is sent! Merry Christmas!
I love this! I’m a list maker too and at least one gets misplaced or lost every week. This would be a great solution!
I doodle and make a lot of list too! I love this chalkboard!
I love this Amy! We have a chalkboard in our kitchen that we made from an old dresser mirror found at Goodwill. {I like yours better, though.} )
Not as cool as it seems. I’m an architecture student, and we painted two wall sections of homosote, with this paint, and it’s hard to erase the chalk off of it without the chalks colors becoming like a layer of dust over the top. We have tried washing it and everything, but it’s very very hard to get satisfactorily clean.
Hey Sam!
Hmmmm…that’s curious. I’ve used just a damp paper towel and it comes very clean, like new. I wonder if it depends on what kind of chalkboard paint is used? Or the surface that is painted?
~ Amy
When I had an actual chalkboard in my classroom, I put a small amount of Old English furniture polish on an old dish rag and used it to clean the boards. Rub it in really well so there are no oily spots. If you store the rag in a ziploc baggie, you can reuse it many times before having to add more oil to the rag.
Grocery list? My fridge is white and has a relatively smooth finish. As it turns out it makes a perfect White Board! Viola!
I scared my kids loling! At a glance I thought the menu said CRACKBURGERS!!! I forgot all about the board for a second! Thanks for the laugh. I have something similar on my to do SOON list! LOVE THIS!
LOVE it Amy! Boy are you lucky to have a *Handy Randy* around! Does he serenade you whilst he works? 🙂
Many sign companies also sell black board vinyl. Peel and stick. It comes in many sizes and can be cut to a shape too.