Our Hopeful Home: Vintage Frame and Plexiglass DIY Chalkboard

September 11, 2012

Are you tired of seeing exorbitantly priced home decor chalkboards in just about every catalog you read? Well, I've been tired of it for some time. And while some trends come and go I do believe that home decor chalkboards are here to stay. Personally, I love them. I've made so many of them that my family is almost blind to them. Basically, they look the other way when they see me coming with another one.

One of my prior chalkboards garnered quite a bit of attention a while back. You can read about that one here. And my chalkboard books were quite popular, too. They're actually very timely now since Halloween will be here before we know it. Check them out here if you'd like a fresh idea for your Halloween decorating.

This time I fell in love with a perfectly chippy ornate frame at a fabulous French Market I had been dying to check out. If you're ever in Morris, IL you have to check out the 3 French Hens French Country Market. I'm so glad I did.

This thing measures 35" by 28" and I thought it would make a great family message board.

Don't you just love the burlap embellishment? The added bling was something that caught my eye and sealed the deal.

Along with this scrollwork, of course. And the pink just creeping out from under the white. I really felt like I hit the chippy, shabby jackpot.

This is the first time I chose to go with plexiglass as the actual chalkboard surface. Mr. CBD went to Home Depot and bought a square of it. Then he used a carpenter's knife to custom cut it to fit the frame. The plexiglass is actually clear. That yellow-orange color you see is a reflection of the leaves in the trees in our back yard, already starting to turn fall colors!

Then I got out my can of Krylon Chalkboard Paint (no priming!) in black and got to work.

It took three light coats before I was satisfied with the look. You really don't have to wait too long between coats. I was busy with other things so I probably painted the coats about an hour apart, but if they're thin enough you can add the next coat fairly quickly. The can doesn't even mention timing on this, so I just winged it.

I can't decide which I like more ~ a newly painted chalkboard or one that's written on. Once it's done and dried (the can says to wait 24 hours) you have to "cure" the board first by rubbing chalk all over it. Just lay the chalk sideways and rub it in. Then you can erase and write to your little heart's content.

I've always wanted an old painted sign to hang in my kitchen. One that says something like "EATS" or "PRODUCE" or some such thing. I think I just made one. And mine's even better because I can change what it says whenever I want. Ultimately I see a family message board. But right now I thought I'd go with an Autumn theme since it's apple picking time here in the midwest. And yes, that's an apple I drew in the bottom right hand corner. Clearly, I can't draw anything freehand, including letters, so out came the stencils. I was really pleased at how they worked so well with the chalk.

I added a Longaberger basket filled with apples as well as two candle sticks from Target's $1.00 bin (I picked them up for Halloween decorating). And then I added the white pumpkins.