Chalkboard {tutorial}

This post will prove to you how much of a procrastinator I am! This time last year I got inspired by blogs like  littlebabygarvin and becomingthebarrs and I decided that I wanted to make my own chalkboard. I went to my local second hand store in search for a picture frame with a wooden back. I was in luck and found one for dirt cheap ($10, I think). Take a look at this beauty....

Can't you just picture this hanging in your dining room? Okay no, you can't because it's hideous and that's why I found it at St. Vincent de Paul! Anywho, Once I got this bad boy home, (which was not as easy as it may seem. I have a little car and this is a pretty big picture) I disassembled it. The wooden backing was held on by staples that were bent up holding it on. Much like a real picture frame does to the glass/cardboard. So I had to bend ALL those staples and remove the wooden back. Once that was off I proceeded to paint the frame white. I used just normal white paint (I think we had white trim paint in the garage). 

Looks much better already!

Then I sat that up to dry and started on the actual chalkboard part. For this I used a mixture of paint and grout. I mixed it until I had a good consistency. There are recipes out there, feel free to google them, but I just eye balled it. For the record, they do make chalkboard paint. And somewhere in some store it is sold. However, I looked everywhere I thought it should be (Walmart, Joann...etc) and had no luck. So I resorted to the DIY version, which seemed appropriate anyways! The paint is thicker than normal paint and you want to do a couple of coats. 

Viola, a chalkboard!

Then all that was left was to let it all dry and reassemble the backing to the frame (with the little staples). The only other thing I did, which was recommended on little baby garvin's tutorial was I coated the entire chalkboard in chalk and then erased it. This "set" the chalkboard so that when it was written on it wouldn't leave behind an imprint once erased.

Now, back to my procrastination. I was so proud of myself for making this chalkboard and so excited to use it. Then I couldn't find anywhere to hang it. So I did what all procrastinators do and I put it in a corner in a room and forgot about it. 

Until today! I finally got it out of its hiding place and started to doodle. It's nothing fancy and I need some practice with my art skills but I think it's cute and a good start for my first go at it! Yay, go me!

Now I still have to find a place to hang it!