Cute AND Easy DIY Chalkboard

For quite some time now, I've been meaning to buy some chalkboard paint.  If you don't know what that is... well, it's a paint that you can put on many surfaces, and once it dries, draw on it with chalk!  It usually comes in black but you can also buy it in white and have it tinted to any color at the store.

Here's how I thought of it.  I was just chilling in my house, studying for my finals when I decided I needed a break.  My dad had just come home from a rummage/garage sale and bought me a used canvas.  He usually gets them for me so I can paint over them or use them for crafts.  So I took it, trying to think of ideas of what to do with it, when I remembered this cute DIY I saw a couple years ago.  It was an entire wall covered in chalkboard paint and colored with designs in chalk.  To be honest, I thought it was the neatest thing I've ever seen and begged me parents to let me do it to my room (which of course they said no to).  While thinking about it today, I realized I could do a mini version of it on a canvas.

So Step 1 is to buy yourself a canvas, or an old thrift shop painting with a relatively flat surface.

Obviously, you're going to need to buy yourself some chalkboard paint (of any color you desire).***Or you could make your own but I don't have any experience with that so I don't know....***  I read on lots of blogs that a foam brush works well with this sort of project.  My dad happened to have one around but you can also buy one at any hardware or paint store for less than a dollar.  You're also going to want a paint stick to SLOWLY mix up the paint.

After one coat, I could still see some of the old paint showing through after only one coat...

So I did one more and let it dry overnight.

Once it's completely dry, you should 'condition' it to toughen it up a bit.  I found many horror stories from other bloggers who hadn't conditioned their chalkboard before using it... Once they drew a line, it stayed there and wouldn't come off!  So don't skip this step because it is vital to having a functioning chalkboard.  ***If you plan on making a chalkboard that will be just for decoration, then skip this step and continue on to decorating.***  All you need is a piece of chalk; just turn it on it's side and scrape it all over the painted area.

You can see that after this step that it looks less like a black painting and more like a chalkboard.

But of course, it's not complete without drawing on it a bit!

And there you have it, a cute DIY Chalkboard!  I hope you all enjoyed this post, because I definitely had fun making this!  If you don't like the idea of painting on a canvas, you can make a chalkboard on other bases...

A mirror, a piece of wood, and even a mug are all good alternatives (although the steps might be a bit different, but it's the same basics)

Currently jamming to: Upside Down by Jack Johnson

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