DIY Chalkboard

My Sweet Husband and I live in a darling home that we rent - I would LOVE to own it because it is about 86 years old and has all the original wood work (floors, doors, etc). However, we are both still in school and not sure where we are going to be living after we finish grad school.  Since we rent, we cannot paint the walls - which means we cannot paint a chalkboard wall in the kitchen - sad face.  So I made a chalkboard out of an ugly painting that I picked up at Goodwill.....here is how you make it!!

1. Go to your local Goodwill and pick up an old, ugly picture - you want it to be pretty large and try to find something with a cool frame that you can paint.  You also want to get something that has glass (not plastic) covering the picture.  My picture was super ugly, but it was cherished by the previous owner because it was professionally framed - it was nailed in the back so I could not take the glass out without a lot of unnecessary work.  My steps show you how to do this if you can't get the glass out easily.  If you can take the glass out of the frame this will be so much easier!  

2.  If you don't have these paint supplies you need to buy them:  

This is GRIPPER by Glidden.  This stuff is a lifesaver!!!  You paint this on over any type of lacquered surface and you will not have to sand or strip off the paint/lacquer!!  This is the greatest stuff ever!!!  I got a small can and I have done multiple projects with it and still have a lot more to use!!  

Indoor/Outdoor Krylon paint - I used Cherry Red Gloss.  This works great for painting your frame!!  I suggest spray paint because it dries really fast =) 

Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint. This paint is perfect for glass.  I used this to spray paint the bottom/foot of wine glasses.  It is the best for glass.  I use Martha Stewart's Chalkboard Paint for other items such as plastic/metal etc. 

STEP ONE:  PREP YOUR FRAME TO BE PAINTED 

(Tools:  your ugly picture, blue tape, notebook paper, gripper, paint brush)

1.  You need to use blue paint tape on the edges and then I covered the rest of the glass with 2 layers of notebook paper.  

My ugly picture of cows.  Blue tape on the edges of the glass

2.  This pic shows the notebook paper I put down over the blue tape and then I held it all down and in place with more blue tape.  Then I painted the frame with gripper =)  Let your gripper dry - this may take awhile  - especially in the corners!  I let it dry for about 3 hours...you might want to let it dry overnight just to be safe =) 

STEP TWO:  PAINT YOUR FRAME

(Tools:  Spray paint, face mask, good ventilation) 

1.  Once gripper is dry you can spray paint your frame.  I put 3 coats of paint on my frame, allowing it to dry completely between each coat.  

2.  When the paint is dry gently pull off the notebook paper and blue tape. 

STEP THREE:  PREPARE GLASS TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO A CHALKBOARD

1.  Place blue tape on your frame - I allowed a little portion of the frame to be painted black - this helped form a nice smooth line between the red frame and black chalkboard so I didn't have to worry about touch ups afterward.  

You can see the little red line - that is my frame and this red part will be painted with the chalkboard paint.  I suggest you do this to keep from having to touch up your frame after you paint the glass =) 

2.  Next, I put blue tape along the edge of the frame.  I did not push the tape onto the frames edge, instead I let it stay sticking out so it would "catch" any over spray.  

You can kind of see what I mean in this picture - the tape is not pressed onto the edge it is extending out from it.  I hope this makes sense =) 

3.  Now you can spray paint your glass with the chalkboard paint!  I put 3 coats of paint on, allowing it to dry completely between each coat.  

STEP FOUR:  REMOVE TAPE AND HANG YOUR CHALKBOARD

1.  Gently remove blue tape.  

2.  If your tape pulls off some of the paint on the frame do not fret!  You can fix it!  Simply spray a little of the spray paint into a bowl and use a small paint brush to dab paint onto the frame.  You want to let it get on there pretty thick and then let it dry.  I only had a few spots where the paint came off of the frame with the blue tape.  A few coats of touch up fixed it!  

3.  If your frame does not have hooks you can go to a hardware store and buy some hooks to attach to the back of the frame.  Sweet Husband took care of this step for me!  

4.  Then you can hang up your chalkboard!  You will need to prep the chalkboard by rubbing a piece of chalk all over the board (put the chalk on it's side).  Then erase it and you are good to go!

I found the EAT letters at Michael's.  A little black spray paint turned them from bronze to black!  The frame was pretty wide so we were able to just set them on the top  =)