How to make your own chalkboard

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Recently my kids and I wanted to learn how to make your own chalkboard. It seemed like a neat way to easily change the decor in our home, plus a great project to do with the kids.

There have been chalkboard projects all over Pinterest, and I was dying to try my hand at it. Upcycling and repurposing items has been so much fun, so I figured I would head over to my local Re-store (part of Habitiat for Humanity) to see what I could make a chalkboard out of.

If you haven’t heard of Re-store, you really need to see if you have a local one. It’s a great shop that is filled with goodies from homes that Habitat for Humanity tears down when rebuilding homes for the needy. Their prices are a lot cheaper than retail, and you are supporting a great cause as well. This trip, I grabbed a cabinet door for $3 and headed on my merry way.

Here’s what I needed for the project:

• Wooden Cabinet door (from Re-store)
• Hand sander
• Sand paper in 220 and 50 grit
• Wood stain (already had from previous project)
• Twine (again from previous project)
• Eye hooks (already had)
• Antique Bronze Spraypaint (previous project)
• Chalkboard Paint

The total cost of the project was $4 (calculating only the chalkboard paint I used)!

This fun project was easy enough that even the kids helped me with it. Our first task was sanding the old finish off. You don’t want to completely sand the finish off. Just sand it enough that the finish feels gritty. I used a 50 grit sand paper, and then I followed it up with a 220 weight. It’s really important to use the 220 last. Otherwise, you will have sand markings in your stain. (Trust me I learned this from experience on this project)

After your project is all sanded, it’s time to stain the outside. When you are staining, make sure to have a rag handy. You let the stain set for 15 minutes (or whatever the instructions on the stain say), and then you wipe the stain off. If it’s not quite the color you want, you can always apply another coat after the first one is dry.

When the staining was all done, I added the chalkboard paint! This was really easy. You just paint it per the directions. Make sure you have even strokes so it dries as an even surface to write on.

I only had brass eye hooks in the house, so I spray painted them with an antiqued bronze spray paint so they would match the frame a little bit better. To stick with our rustic theme, I used the twine I had from the upcycled vase I made last week. Then it was ready to hang. I threw on a festive message and a seasonal decoration to finish it out. What do you think?

Next, you might want to try organizing your crafts and making this Upcycled Ribbon Organizer.

Have you wondered how to make your own chalkboard? What messages would you put on yours?