DIY chalkboard

i thought i would share a little craft i did about a month or so ago. shaun and i are always trying to cook at home more, and we always say that we just need to sit down and make a menu. well, i looked around our kitchen and noticed that we don't have anything hanging on our walls. we bought our house knowing that we were going to gut and re-do the kitchen as soon as possible. i haven't decorated in there at all. i don't want to spend money on stuff that possibly won't work in our new kitchen. so, out walls are bare and it's very boring in there.

so, i thought i would add a little something to the wall the would be functional but also cool and kind of like art.

how about a chalkboard for a menu? great.

i went to a local 2nd hand store called Restore and bought an big, old ugly picture frame for i think $15.

i already had some green paint, so i just painted the frame. it's an awesome color. the bathroom in our old house is this color and i'm thinking about using it in our kitchen/dining room once it's finished. it's tansy by sherwin williams.

while the frame was drying i painted the back panel (the mdf part that had the hooks on it for hanging on the wall) with chalkboard paint. i got the chalkboard paint at Home Depot for $11. it's tintable and i decided on the dark brown color. i think it was called espresso.


the directions for the chalkboard paint said to let it sit for 3 days before using. then "condition" the board by rubbing the chalk sideways over the whole board. i'm not really sure what this does, but i did it.

Once everything was dry, i attached the painted mdf back to the painted frame and hung in the kitchen.



we have used it as a menu and for weekend to do lists. i was very pleased how it came out and it was pretty easy. once C gets older, she is definitely getting one for her room.

enjoy!