Old School

I don't know about you, but my memory went to complete mush after I had a baby - "Mommy mush brain". I have a cell phone and a tablet that spits out reminders but it's easy to click "dismiss", and I forget completely about it by the time I change a diaper or make a bottle. 

I wanted something that I could hang in my room that I couldn't ignore. Couldn't find any cute dry-erase boards and the chalkboards I am starting to see now at retail stores are just down right cheesy. I ordered a roll of Con-Tact brand chalkboard paper, and picked up an old, but sturdy, wooden picture frame from Goodwill for 4 bucks. Aaand then I made this:

You will need:

• Time: 1 hour +
• Any picture frame, with backing and glass.
• Chalkboard paper (or if you choose to paint your chalkboard on the frame's glass, I am not sure how that works!).
• Craft paint.
• A paint brush or two that you don't mind roughing up.
• Scissors.
• Optional: Cardboard 

I didn't really like the color of the wood, and I wanted to make it look "weathered", so I took Apple Barrel craft pain in Coral and applied it with a large paint brush. Make sure you go in one direction so it goes with the grain of the wood. If you don't want ANY wood grain showing, I suggest using a primer first.

I applied the paint in a sort of rough way to make it look worn down. Let it dry for about an hour, but that is really the manufacturers recommendation... I let it dry for about 20 minutes since it wasn't a thick coating. 

This is where it is important to at least let the first coat dry for a little bit, because if you don't the next coat will just smear around. After I let the coral coat dry, I applied Regency Blue, in the same rough manner I did previously.  Applying it rough will let some of the coral coat to peak through, thus creating the desired look. 

 

Unroll your Chalkboard con-tact paper, mine looked really crinkled... but applied smooth! Place the frame's glass on top of your con-tact paper, cut a tiny bit bigger than the glass just in case...When you are applying the con-tact paper onto the glass, do it a little bit at a time and do it slowly. As you go, smooth out any bumps or wrinkles. 

 I personally couldn't get out a wrinkle or maybe a tiny bump, but it looked pretty darn good to me. Replace your glass, now chalkboard and backing. 

Enjoy your old school chalkboard!