DIY Back to School Chalkboard

Good morning loves. I don't know about you but the back to school buzz is strong over here in our house. We have two weeks till the kids are off to school.  It's crazy but, all three kids start on different days of the week. I guess that's what happens when you have a kid in High School, JR High and Kindergartner. Yea, that little one he keeps us young.

I have forgotten what it's like to have a little one in school. It's been years since I've even had to walk one to school. It's going to be a huge adjustment that's for sure. It's true, I'm excited to have them all in school, to finally get some "me" time. However, my heart breaks a little every time I think of my baby boy growing up. It seems once they start, it just starts to fly by. Miss Fay only has 3 years left, THREE! *tears

I have always taken a first day of school photo, I mean who doesn't? Back in the day... there was no Pinterest no great ideas, no "ohhh, I need to do that." Nope, just a picture and a smile for the big kids, on their first day.

Oh, but times, they are a changin'. My little guy is going back to school in style. With a huge chalk board to highlight this special day!

Being the incredibly nice girl that I am, I'm going to show you step by step how you can do it too. Your gonna want to grab a few things before we get started.

SUPPLIES FOR THIS PROJECT

1. A Poster Frame

2. Chalk Paint

3. Assorted Paint Brushes

4. Sand Paper

5. A Chalk Marker 

6. Pencil with a good eraser (trust me)

7. A T Square, Ruler, or another straight edge

8. Stencils (the more the better)

9. Craft Paints (this is up to up to you, if you want color the choices are unlimited)

Why a poster frame: They are affordable, and they are super light weight. You wouldn't want your little one trying to hold up a super heavy frame or a painted mirror. You can of course substitute this item for something else, I just think a poster frame is a great option. I got a 20x30 that I found a Goodwill for .99 cents, BOOM! Of course they come in bigger and smaller sizes, so you can pick according to your preference.

The first thing you want to do is paint your frame. Paint the top plastic piece. I did maybe 3-4 coats. Sand using a light sand paper in between coats, to reduce brush marks.

Keep the cardboard back you will need this to reassemble the frame.

I did spray paint the plastic outer frame pieces, this is completely optional. 

While your waiting for you paint to dry, grab some scratch paper and sketch out your design. This does not have to be anything fancy. Just a general idea of what and where you want your sections to be.

Once your "chalkboard" is dry it's time to get creative. The first thing I did was section my board out. This helps keep everything even and in it's place. I stared at the top with his name and worked my way down. This is where my stencils came in. 

Note: the stencils are totally optional as well. If your awesome at hand lettering then you really don't need them. I however, needed these stencils!

The only thing hand lettered on this sign is the word kindergarten, and the big 5. Every other thing was made with the stencils. All of these stencils were purchased at Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby.

Once you have everything sketched out it's time to outline with the chalk marker. I'm sure you could use a paint pen, or paint in general. However I like the chalk marker, in case I make a mistake, it's easily fixable. I outlined everything first and then went back later to fill in the color. 

Note: Do I thin coat of paint, this give more of a chalk look when the black shows through slightly.

Note: Once you paint you can go back over with the chalk marker again to clean up your lines. I did this multiple times.

Borders. You can do a solid line, a dashed or even a dotted line. The choice is yours and the options are unlimited.  I used my ruler so my dots were even. Every 1/2 inch. Don't worry about your pencil lines. You can easily erase them or leave them, either way they wont be noticeable.

The possibilities of this project are endless. I've seen them for birthdays, school, weddings. Just let your creativity take over and your final result will be amazing!

Pinterest has tons of inspiration, for chalk boards. I'm positive that anyone can pull this off. So are you ready to make your own? Go do it! Send me your pictures of your finished project I would love to see your results!

Until then,

xoxo

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