I have been wanting to make a chalkboard for our Ellinée photo studio for a while now. It was the idea to share my process with you that finally made it happen this last weekend!
First, I want to tell you about the paint I used. Annie Sloan is an artist from Oxford, England who started a painted furniture revolution. Her paint is called Chalk Paint (different than chalk board paint), and it is very eco-friendly, easy to work with and a fast way to create a vintage look to almost anything. She has a list of American, Canadian and European retailers on her site. I purchased my paint at the Purple Pear here in Portland. I have painted 7 pieces of furniture in the last few months and am completely sold on this paint! Because it is chalk, once it dries, you finish the surface by rubbing in a soft wax. The dark wax gives an aged look to the light and mid-tone paint colors and the clear wax seals the surface. Although I used a chalkboard paint (*finishing up leftovers) for the center, you can use the Graphite Annie Sloan paint without the wax finish for a chalkboard surface.
I made my chalk board from an old cabinet door ($2) I found at Portland’s ReBuilding Center. You can get creative and use almost anything with a flat surface. I used Annie Sloan Paris Grey for the frame. Here is the tutorial of my version:
Lia
Lia is a daily crafter, maker, designer and DIYer. Find more of her creative inspiration at liagriffith.com.
I just pinned this. What an amazing tutorial!! I never thought you could make something like this with just those types of supplies! I have been wanting a blackboard for forever and the paint looks really awesome. Thank you for this.
Oh I love this! Pinned it! :)
This is great!! I love it. What a great write-up on Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I am going to refer her to this site. Thank you for doing this. Wonderful!!
I am sure I will be showing more Annie Sloan painted projects here. :-)
Phyllis from the Purple Pear sent me over. Thanks for the review of ASCP. I am addicted. What a great chalk board you made! I am also in love with your blog. I will be back!
Thanks Lisa and thanks Phyllis!
What an absolutely awesome idea. I love it, thank you so much. :)
What a beautiful way to upcylcle! Fantastic idea!
this is SO darling! just stumbled across your blog today + I’m sooooo happy I did! :) happy saturday.
Thanks Rebecca. It is a bit surreal because I was JUST admiring your blog a few days ago! Maybe your ears were burning?
You find the most beautiful frames. I really like that the chalk is eco-friendly. Do they make wooden maniquins? Wouldn’t that look cool in chalkpaint? or maybe even just a wooden head. Would the chalkpaint work on a paper surface? You could then paint all the different paper-mache shapes then now carry at the craft stores. A chalkboard pumpkin, santa, egg, ect… As long as the surface is smooth enough, the possibilities could almost be endless. For the kids, you could paint the top of a letter-sized box, and keep an assortment of colored chalk & eraser inside. Thank-you as always, for another great idea and project.
The cool thing about chalkboard paint is you can paint it on almost anything. I have seen it painted on ceramic mugs to add a morning message, to cheese trays, to mark the type of cheese… the list is endless. I was making a chalkboard for my entryway and on a whim, painted the whole ornate and detailed frame. I think I like the color and it gives it a contemporary twist. YOU! need to start a blog. You have so many ideas. :-)