DIY Faux Chalkboard

Hold on to your hats ladies and gents because I am about to BLOW. YOUR. MIND. 

Well as much as wedding crafts can blow your mind….

Let me start with a little story…a friend of mine had lent my sister a large sandwich board double sided chalkboard to use for her wedding. There had been something written on it in chalk pen and, since the wedding was over 9 months away we stashed it in my sister’s guest bedroom………until TWO DAYS before her wedding. She asked me to write her cake flavors on one side and “We’re all family now, sit wherever you would like” on the other. I went to wipe off what was already on the chalkboard and it would NOT come off. I tried. I scrubbed, I used water, soap, and alcohol wipes. Most of it came off but it left a noticeable mark. I was FREAKING OUT you guys. This was supposed to go next to her cake, I didn’t know what we were going to do! SO that’s when I came up with this brilliant idea of a “faux chalkboard”.

The trend for weddings and bridal showers and really parties of any kind right now are chalkboards. Chalkboard EVERYTHING.  Its easy enough to slap a layer of chalkboard paint on the glass of a picture frame and use it as a chalkboard (done it… many times) but are you really going to need 10-15 chalkboards when the day is over? Unless you’re an art teacher my guess is no. But you can always use a nice picture frame. 

SO on that note I came up with a really awesome way to get the chalkboard look with out actually making a chalkboard.

Things you will need:

-Black poster or foam board

-White paint pen

-Exacto knife

-Picture frame

-Printer

-Computer

Step 1: Cut the black poster board to the size you need (if you’re using an 8x10 frame cut to 8x10 etc). 

Step 2: Decide what you want to put on your poster board and design it in publisher.

Step 3: Transfer the font onto the poster board by tracing over it with a ballpoint pen and then use a paint pen to trace over the guidelines. A more detailed step by step on how to transfer fonts can be found here! 

 

 

Step 4: Remove the back and glass from your frame. Put the glass in a safe storage place where it wont get cracked. Replace the photo with your posterboard and put the back in and refasten into place. 

 

You are DONE. It looks just like a chalkboard but once your event is over you can take out the poster and use the photo frame! I've done it with so many things and honestly you really cant tell.

Now we have all these awesome frames to put our wedding photos in after the big day! Bonus!