Chalkboard FAQs

I have gotten a lot of questions regarding how I make the chalkboards every week. Here's a quick tutorial as to how we created the one you see in our pictures:

You'll need the following supplies:

A picture frame (more on that below) ~$15

Sandpaper ~$2

Paint rollers ~$5

Behr Ultra Pure White paint and primer ~$30/gallon

Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint ~$10

Step One:: Check your local thrift stores, garage sales, and the internet. We found our picture and frame off of Craigslist for only $15! I knew when I saw it that I had to have it. My husband wasn't so sure, but I think even he'd agree now that it was a steal! If you are handy, I'm sure it'd be easy to make one as well, like this blogger did. You'll want to take out the picture itself, to make sure you coat the frame nicely. This one was held together with staples that just popped right out!

Step Two::  First, make sure you sandpaper the frame and smooth any edges. This will not only make the paint adhere better, but will also make your frame look nicer! I spent about 15 minutes total doing this. After that, I busted out the roller and gave the frame about two coats using Behr's Ultra Pure White paint and primer. (We've used this throughout our entire house and LOVE the way it covers.) We got a gallon of it at Home Depot for around $30, but you won't need nearly that much for this project.

Step Three::While the frame was drying, I put the picture itself on top of our recycling and trash bin and started painting away with Rustoleum Chalkboard paint in black. The picture was actually just printed on paper and glued onto a thin MDF board, but you could paint over just about anything. Even mirrors, like this post here. It took about three coats before I was happy, but that's because I'm a little picky and wanted to make sure I did it right the first time!

Step Four:: Now the hard part is over. Reassemble the picture and frame, and voila! Magic. Bye bye ugly pasture picture and hello weekly pregnancy tracker chalkboard! (I did have to use our staple gun for reassembly, but this step depends upon what kind of picture and frame you have.)