8.12.2013

my super cheap chalk ideas!

Okay so I've been on a crafting rampage these past couple weeks! I think I've been to Michaels at least ten times in the past two weeks! I've been making all kinds of fun stuff for my new apartment. My theme is coral and grey, so everything's revolving around those colors. Right now I'm obsessed with chalkboards! I love the look and I love the uniqueness and flexibility that decorating with a chalkboard presents. But buying a chalkboard (a  nice one) can be crazy expensive! I'm in love with the ones that are sold at Cost Plus, but I can't afford to spend $80 on a little chalkboard! My mission right  now is to find an old picture with a pretty frame, so I can paint the glass from the picture with chalkboard paint. You get the same look, for much less!

For now though, I decided to make a smaller chalkboard to hang on the wall in my apartment! I love the look, and the best part is that it hardly costs anything!


 So this is what I made! It was so easy! and it looks super cute too! :)

I started with a plain wooden frame from Michaels.  They have tons of designs and all different sizes and the best part.....they're all under $2! Here's what they look like before painting:


I had some left over wall paint in coral, so that's what I used to paint it. But you can use really any kind of paint! The wood is light, so it only takes a few coats and it dries very fast! My frame was 11x14 and I wasn't sure what I was going to put in the middle that I could cover with the chalkboard paint until I found these lightweight 11x14 foam boards at Michaels as well. The chalkboard paint I used is grey since that's one of the colors that I'm using to theme my room, but you can get pretty much any color. I used Rust-o-leum from Home Depot, and it was $13 for a quart of paint.  I just found out, however, they sell chalkboard spray paint! I think I need to take another trip to Home Depot! :) You can also try to make your own if you want to save some more money. 
Once I painted the foam board with the chalkboard paint I used a craft glue to stick it to the frame and voilà! I also recommend checking out this blog on tips for writing in chalk! It's amazing! 

And there you have it!
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