I love a good chalkboard decor piece! I can't be the only one - they seem to be "in" lately!
I had some extra photo frames sitting around and was thinking about what I could use them for this Christmas and finally decided to make some rustic chalk boards.
I've made a few in the past (not Christmas themed) and used them in staging for my sister's wedding and they looked fantastic so I wanted to try making some holiday themed boards.
Cottage Paint has just released their Winter Wishes Palette for Winter 2018 and it's glorious!
I happen to have a small pot of Crimson and Forest Shadow, as well as White, so I decided that I would use those colours for the frames of my boards.
Gail from Cottage paint was kind enough to send me a pot of their Chalk Board Paint and I wanted to show you how great it is, so that is the chalk board medium that I used for this project.
In this post, I will show you how I created my Rustic Christmas Chalkboards and I encourage you to try something similar this holiday - they are a lot of fun!
What You Need:
1. Frame with Glass
2. Cottage Paint Crimson
3. Cottage Paint Forest Shadow
4. Cottage Paint White (the pure white, not the antique white)
5. Cottage Paint Flat Wax
6. Cottage Paint Matte Varnish
7. Cottage Paint Chalk Board Paint
8. Cloth (for distressing)
9. Water (for distressing)
10. 5 Brushes (3 for paint, 1 for wax and 1 for varnish)
11. Foam roller and roller tray
12. Chalk
13. Small burlap sack
14. Ribbon
Step 1: Paint Your Frame
I had these frames from Dollarama and thought they would be perfect for this project! I used a paint can opener to pry open the little metal tags on the back of the frame that hold everything in, and took out the glass and backing.
I then painted my frame with Cottage Paint Forest Shadow. I wasn't super careful about brush marks or total coverage as it is meant to have a rustic look so brush marks aren't a problem and it will have many more layers over top.
Step 2: Paint Your Glass
While the frame is drying, pour a little of the Chalk Board Paint into a small roller tray and use a foam roller to apply it to the glass. (It will take a few layers to achieve complete coverage, so don't glob it on. Multiple thin layers is much better than putting globs on in one layer that won't dry properly.
Step 3: Highlight Your Frame
After the green has dried, take your Crimson and highlight areas of the frame that you plan on distressing - corners or grooves and details. Again, I wasn't worried about brush marks or complete coverage.
Step 5: Paint Your Glass Again
Repeat step 2 again, and roll another layer of Chalkboard paint onto your glass.
Step 6: Wax Your Frame
In order for your distressing to not go all the way down to the original frame, you need to put a layer of Cottage Paint Wax over your red/green combo. I chose to use Flat Wax for this. Simply paint the wax onto your frame and let it dry.
Step 7: Paint Your Frame White
While your second layer of Chalkboard Paint is drying, take your White paint and cover the frame. You are more than likely going to need two coats of white, so don't panic if it's not full coverage the first time. (It's supposed to be rustic anyway, remember?) You can see in my photo that I didn't have full coverage in the corners and edges.
Step 7: Add a Third Layer to Your Glass
Get out your roller again and roll on a third layer.
Step 8: Add Your Last Layer to Your Frame
Once your first layer of white has dried, you are ready for the final layer. You should achieve almost full (if not full) of white at this point. Even if you do have a few spots where you can see the red or green, it's fine, because you will be distressing to those colours anyway.
Step 9: Add Your Final Chalkboard Layer
Woo-hoo! You are on your final layer of Chalkboard Paint! Roll it on and let your glass cure for 4 to 7 days - longer is usually better. As tempting as it is to draw pictures on it, don't! It needs to cure and be seasoned first!
Step 10: Distress Your Frame
Take a damp cloth and gently distress your frame where it would naturally distress from years of handling - corners, edges, grooves and details. You will see the pretty Crimson and Forest Shadow show through the White.
Step 11: Seal Your Frame
Seal your frame for durability since it will be handled. Since it's more of a decor piece and not meant to be "played with" the way a child would play with a chalkboard, you don't have to use a heavy duty sealer. I chose Cottage Paint Flat Varnish because it has a silky, flat look when it's dry and it provides a light but durable seal. I did two layers of varnish.
Step 12: Season Your Glass
Did you know that before you use a new chalk board, it needs to be "seasoned?" It does! This makes it so that the first thing that you write or draw on the board doesn't end up as a faint but permanent shadow after you erase it.
Seasoning your board is simple. Take a piece of chalk and gently rub it over the surface of the board using the side of the chalk. (Make sure your board has cured for the full 4 to 7 days before doing this.)
Then, you can erase it and it's able to be drawn or written on.
Step 13: Put Your Chalkboard Back Together
After your frame has been sealed and dried and your board has been seasoned and erased, you are ready to put it all back together.
Put your glass back into the frame (chalk side out) and put the backing back on.
*At this point, you may want to decoupage a cute Christmas paper onto the back of your frame to give it a little more pizzazz. I didn't but I may next time.*
Step 14: Add Ribbon and Burlap Chalk Bag
Add a piece or two of chalk to your small burlap bag. Take a length of green or red ribbon and tie it into a bow around your frame, tying the burlap strings into the bow.
Your Rustic Christmas Chalkboard is ready for use or for gifting!
How cute is that?! An adorable and customizeable piece of Christmas art/decor for your home or to give as a gift!
I'd love to see photos of your chalkboard projects!
What colours would you use for your Christmas Chalkboard? Feel free to message me or post photos and comments.