This is my new chalk board that serves for the sharing of inspirational quotes,
but also looks very decorative on any wall in our house!
Believe it or not, this used to be an old window frame, now converted into a very decorative and useful piece of art that will stand out on any wall in your home. In this post I am sharing with you the step by step process of how to make a board like this by yourself in your spare time. I hope you try it and enjoy the final product.
STEP 1:
Dust off the old window frame.
STEP 2:
Lay it flat on a surface and do a gentle sanding down, covering the whole frame area.
STEP 3:
Just to make sure that the paint will stick to wood well, apply primer first - this will bond the top coat of paint really well with the wood. Allow 2 hours to dry.
STEP 4:
In order to get the old french provincial look, you can apply a darker colour to the edges of the frame - for this you may want to choose dark grey, black or dark brown. Paint is applied scarcely and whilst wet, you can use a cotton cloth to rub it into the wood. We are after that natural look - aiming away from perfection.
Allow an hour to two to dry.
STEP 5:
Now you can measure the size of the window and get the piece of ply-board in that exact size from your local Bunnings or Masters store. Cut the plywood to the exact dimensions. Once you have your ply-board, we can now prepare it for chalk paint. Just like with the frame, we start off by applying the primer, this will make sure that our chalk paint sticks well. Allow 2 hours to dry.
STEP 6:
Now you are ready to apply the black chalk paint. You will need to apply the chalk paint twice, waiting 2 hours in between the coats.
STEP 7:
Meanwhile, we apply the desired colour on our window frame - I used off white colour. We go over the whole frame, even the darker painted corners. As you are painting away, you would use a cloth to rub off some of the colour to show the darker coat underneath that we applied around the edges of the frame. Depending on how it looks, you may want to re-apply the darker colour around the corners and keep rubbing it into the wood until you get the desired effect. Leave overnight to dry.
STEP 8:
Now we are ready to take the glass out of the window frame and fix the newly painted black chalkboard into the frame. Use a staple gun to secure it into the frame.
STEP 9:
You may want to use a hammer to secure any staples that are stubborn and don't want to go all the way in.
STEP 10:
The last thing we have to do is add the cord at the back of the frame so that we can hang it onto the wall. I have used the staple gun for the cord as well, leaving it secure and strong enough to hang onto the wall.
Your Decorative Black Board is Now Ready to Be Used!
Be creative and change your message as often as you like....
GREAT IN THE HALLWAY
I was hoping to make this a useful tutorial, so please let me know if you find it useful and if I missed anything in the instructions.
HAPPY CREATIONS!!!
