Kitchen Chalkboard

Kitchen Chalkboard

I wanted to make a chalkboard for the kitchen but also needed to hang hooks for my measuring cups and pot holders, so I combined the two ideas!

…..

Supplies:

Wooden picture frame (8X10)

Chalkboard paint

Small cup hooks

Paint brush (1”) or small foam paint roller

Optional:

White spray paint

Blue acrylic paint

Rag/old t-shirt

Sandpaper or Sanding pad

First I found a plain wooden 8×10 picture frame from Goodwill. Since I intended to paint mine I didn’t really worry too much about what it looked like. You can really go for any size you want but stick with a wood frame so you can screw the cup hooks in more easily.

I found the cup hooks, chalkboard paint, and sand pad at Home Depot.

If you don’t plan on painting your picture frame, click here to jump to the next step!

Pop the glass out of your picture frame, find a well-ventilated place to paint, and lightly coat in a layer of spray paint. Tip it on the corner and let it dry. If you’re going for a solid color I would wait for the first coat to dry (1-2 hours) and then spray once more. I wanted an antiqued country look so I just went with one coat of white since I would be sanding some of it off later. The “antique” look is perfect if you’re not an expert painter or if you make any mistakes because you can just sand it off!

After the frame was dry I poured out some light blue acrylic paint and mixed with a few drops of water. Have a rag handy so you can wipe off the paint right away. I found that a scrap of an old t-shirt worked perfectly!

Paint a small section of the frame and then wipe it off with the rag. Repeat until the entire frame is done. The second color of paint you use will stick into the grains of wood and give it a light “stained” look. Once you have your desired effect, set it aside and let it dry for another thirty minutes.

And yes.. you may end up looking like a Smurf

Once your frame is dry grab a piece of 100 grit sandpaper or a sanding pad and rub the corners, edges, and other spots on the frame to give it a sun-bleached and worn look.

While you were waiting for that first coat of spray paint to dry, hopefully you continued reading so you could start on the chalkboard portion of this!

Lay the picture frame glass on some newspaper and make sure the glass is clean. I’m not a fan of picking off those price tag stickers so I just flipped the glass over since it won’t show anyway. Since this was my first attempt at my own chalkboard I used a paintbrush, but if I were to do it again I would use a small paint roller for a smoother look. Paint in long strokes to avoid a streaky look and let the first coat dry for 1-2 hours.

This is after one coat

Once dry paint on a second coat and again… watch the paint dry! The nice thing about this project is that you’re working on the pieces separately so you can jump back and forth to them during dry times. If you really want a thick opaque coat I would go ahead and paint a third layer but with the cardboard behind it, it’s really not necessary.

With the cardboard behind it

Evenly space your cup hooks and screw into the frame. Now I’ve promised to show the good and the bad… and here’s what happened when I tried to do mine!

Chalk it up (no pun intended!) to cheap cup hooks, using pliers, or a very sturdy frame, but my cup hook broke right off into the frame! Not to be discouraged, I screwed another one in right next to it and you barely notice it.

Once dry, put your glass (now chalkboard!) back into the frame, and hang it up! Now you’ve got yourself a unique board to write down recipes, grocery lists, or love notes, and hooks to hang your kitchen essentials on!

I had a lot of fun doing this and I hope you do too!

Too tired to make your own? Contact me to have a custom one made!

Sasha@TattooedMartha.com