DIY Chalkboard+ Galvanized Letters Decor: Part 1

Hey guys, if you know me or have seen other projects I’ve made, you know by now that I love me some chalk paint. In an odd corner of my kitchen, I used to have a coffee/tea/ hot cocoa station there with a decent sized chalk board. The only problem was that I really wanted a chalk board large enough to be a message board. So about a month ago I moved this chalk board to sit above my fireplace. And this wall has been empty ever since.

Sorry, I know Christmas was well over 3 months ago, but this was the latest picture I had of the space before I changed it. I change things around a lot usually. But, I’m sure you do too 😉 Anyway, so my son had a desk in his room that attached to his bookshelf just like this:

This is an Ikea expedite bookshelf with a desk (made of 2 pieces- the top and leg) you can add on if you’d like. Well, when we decided to finally give my son a bigger bed like he had been asking for, we didn’t have any room for this desk attachment. My husband wanted to throw it out, but me being the salvage queen (aka hoarder :0) decided I could use it for something. And then, it dawned on me that I “needed” a larger chalk board to be my message board in this space.

So I used the top piece of that desk and it was the perfect size. Here, Im showing you the bottom side up because it was the better surface to use. All I had to do was fill in a few holes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the steps I took to build this:

Step 1: sand down the surface to get an even and clean surface and give the paint something to adhere well to.

Step 2: clean off the surface from debris and start painting.

Step 3: let coats dry in-between and do as many as needed. I also sanded it down a little inbetween coats. I gave this board 4 generous coats.

Step 4: Once the chalk is all dry, its ready for its frame. I got 2 pieces of this long fairly thin natural wood at I believe 14 cents a piece and just cut them to fit my board perfectly and drilled them to the 4 edges of the board with 2 screws per side. You would choose a piece that would fit your board well. I wanted mine to have a lip so I got one that was slightly thicker than the board itself.

Step 5: I then stained the frame with Minwax Wood Finish in a mixture of Jacobean(1/3) and Classic Grey(2/3). You can also do this step before attaching the wood to your board, but I like complicated. After seeing the finished and dried product, I’m actually debating if I wanna add some oak finish to it to warm it up just a tad. I think I’ll do it this weekend.

Step 6: My favorite part! Adding hooks to hang the board, hanging it and stepping back to enjoy your final product!

I hope you enjoyed my DIY chalkboard out of random things you already have. This project cost me near nothing and will be so loved! Be sure to check out part 2 of the project. I separated it because I thought it would be too long of a post. So, you’re welcome 😉 But really go check it out.