Chalk Board

I wanted a large chalk board to use for my porch, actually for the front and the back porch.  On a trip with some friends a couple of summers ago in Chicago I picked up a large picture frame to get the project started.  The glass was broken almost immediately but since I didn't need it for the project and no one was injured as we just disposed of the glass in the dumpster and went on our way looking for additional treasures. 

I painted the frame first, this is a pretty large chalk board but the few little steps apply to any size. I chose black for the frame as I pretty much paint anything that will stand still black. As you can see by the green grass this isn't a "real time" metamorphosis as you will later see this was a July project.

I was able to pick up a piece of 1/4" plywood already cut to fit into the frame.  Normally your Big Box lumber store will cut your piece to size for a small fee if you can't get a pre-cut piece.

 Two coats of black chalk board paint did the trick.  Chalk board paint comes in several colors now so if black isn't "your thing" try one of the other colors available.

I used picture frame tacks to secure the  plywood chalk insert to the frame and as you can see the end results for this very very simple project were pretty successful.

While I was on a roll with chalk board paint I also did a message board on our back door.  I picked out a picture frame that I wanted to mount on the door.  First step was to decide the location that I wanted the message board to be placed, I held the empty frame up to the door and traced with a pencil the inside the frame.  I then removed the frame, and used painters tape to tape the outline of the door that was to be painted with the chalkboard paint.  I put on two coats of the paint inside the painters tape lines and waited 24 hours for it to dry thoroughly before mounting the frame over the painted area. I removed the painters tape and secured the frame with a little Gorilla Glue on each corner.  Should I ever want to remove the message board I'll just need to remove the frame, do a little sanding on each of the corners where I put the drop of Gorilla Glue then repaint the door.  Again, a very simple project, with the exception of the drying time I don't think this project took more than a half an hour.

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Keeping It Simple