So, kinda like the chalk paint craze, I am pretty tardy to the chalkboard art party. Last year when I decked out the porch for Halloween, my fish painting bothered me in the background – taunting me with is springy-ness and reminder of summers past. When Honey said he had a great board for it hiding downstairs, I jumped at the chance to get ‘er done.
Now, while I do have a little creativity in me, I will be the first to admit that I am no artist. So, the thought of trying to fill this blank canvas with something lovely was a bit terrifying. With a quick stint on Pinterest, I not only found a chalk worthy quote, but I was also able to locate this great tutorial by Burlap and Denim. I’ll let you hop on over there for all the details, but here’s a quick run through of the process…
1. First things first, you need a picture to work from, if you’re like me. And I’m assuming you are else you’d be free-handing something fabulous rather than sitting here reading my step by step. I created mine in powerpoint. First I drew a rectangle to the scale of my chalkboard and then I settled on my fonts, spacing and images. I added the grid lines to equal every 6” on my chalkboard.
2. In addition to the to-scale printout of your art, you’ll need a yard stick (or ruler depending on the size of your board) and a wet rag or some baby wipes. (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I can’t imagine a day without baby wipes in it. Baby or no.)
3. Use your yardstick to mark off the same 6” grid on your chalkboard. Then, use your picture as a guide to draw square by square. It’s a little tedious but I found it strangely fun and exciting to see it come together. (This coming from the non-artist.)
4. As I finished each square, I used a baby wipe to erase my guidelines. For the tiny little spaces, I wrapped it around my pointer finger and just dapped away. You can always add back chalk if you erase too much.
5. After I got everything complete and erased from my guide image, I went back and freehanded some swirls to fill in some of the empty space. I like it so much, I might leave it up until the new year with a new quote for Christmas!!
If you want to use my quote, you can download it here:
Happy chalking, y’all!!
xoxo
It looks fantastic! So fun! :-)
It's so cute! You have really done such a wonderful job with your decorating this year!
Love this tutorial Amanda!! And you are right about baby wipes. I have them everywhere in my house and have found they are great for getting small spills off carpet…who knew? I am working on a cross stitch project with that same saying on it!
Genius! Never thought to add gridlines and then erase them.
Do you already know you can buy 2' x 4' chalkboards and whiteboards at Home Depot. It is so reasonably priced I probably will never paint my own again. They will cut the size you need but you do have to buy the sheet. I found it on the isle with Masonite and pegboard at the Home Depot in our town. Love your chalkboard! DiAnne
LOVE it!!! another find – if you paint the board first with magnetic paint (2 coats) than chalkboard paint – makes the chalkboard magnetic
Decor is awesomely spooky!!!
Amazing the amount of time it can take to do a piece of chalkboard art, isn't it? Yours turned out lovely! I'm thinking I need to invest in a projector… ;-)
Wow!
fun!
Oh I love this idea, how fun. You are so clever and love the way you designed your sign. Perfect. Thanks tons for linking up to Inspire Me. Hugs, Marty
Such a great idea!!! You are brilliant!
this turned out so great, you did such a super job! I've not done one either, so you're ahead of some of us stragglers. thanks for coming over to share at the party!
Love it Amanda!
Try using wet chalk, too. The colors are vivid and they don't smear when smudged. Search for tutorials on the Internet.
That grid is money. I've got a chalk board I've been putting off decorating because I am so not that artistic. Thanks for the idea! Looks great!
Really cute! I love great big chalkboards!
Fabulous ! Love your chalkboard !