Diy Project: Chalkboard Signs!

This last week I worked on a DIY project for my own upcoming wedding. I wanted a chalkboard menu and two smaller ones to place on the bar so guests could easily choose their beverage. Looking online I saw so many choices! Ultimately, I decided I could make these myself, save money, AND be able to recycle them after the wedding to use in our home. Here's how I did it!

First, I bought chalk (just the regular Crayola brand), a chalkboard pen (Brides was the brand I believe, bought it at Michael's), and Krylon chalkboard spray paint.

I also bought two 8"x10" pretty frames from TJ Maxx (my fave store!) for about $8 each. I used these to make my frames for the bar/beverage signs. For my menu sign ($50 at TJ Maxx), I bought a large wood framed mirror that I knew we could use after the wedding. It's gorgeous!

For the next part, I asked my dad to help as I'm not exactly handy! We bought a piece of 1/8" MDF panel from Home Depot (under $4 for 3'x4' sheet). I removed the glass from the picture frames and used that to figure the size of the board we'd need. Then we measured the inside of the mirror frame, so the board can just sit on top of the mirror. My dad marked out the measurements and cut the pieces out (the blue painter's tape helps the board not to splinter when cutting.)

After cutting the pieces out, we took them outside and laid them on a large painter's tarp. *Note- make sure that it's not a windy and pollen filled day! I didn't think of that when we did mine and the pollen stuck to the paint!* We followed the directions on the can and sprayed first horizontal then vertical, just one layer of each. I let them dry for a couple of hours and the board seemed to be soaking up a lot of paint so I did another coat (at least two coats are required to make the chalkboard effect work). They recomend letting the board dry for at least 24 hours before testing with chalk.

To "break in" the chalk board effect, you use a piece of chalk and rub it sideways over the entire board, then erase. It didn't quite have the effect, which means it might have needed another coat still.
I might also recomend buying a higher quality wood board or using a primer of some sort since the MDF panel seemed to soak up a lot of paint. Even so, my boards looked great in the frames!

I decided to give my chalkboard pen a try on one of the boards. I liked it much more than the regular chalk! Plus it stays put until you want to erase it with water. I did find it difficult to remove, but given I was making these for a one time use it worked just fine for me. Again, if I had done another coat of paint, I think it would have worked better. You get the idea though! :)

Now we have chalkboard menus for our wedding and two beautiful frames and a mirror for our home after!