Picture-frame Chalkboard
I love this project, and if you have an unusual or fancy frame it can definitely have the WOW factor too. Scour charity, junk shops & car boot sales for cheap pictures or mirrors with great frames that you can give a new lease of life to. Once it's hanging on your wall I guarantee all your friends will want one.
You will need:
(if the frame does not have a backboard you will need to cut a piece of MDF to fit)
MDF, pencil, jigsaw & sandpaper
(if you need to cut a new backboard)
Various tools
(each frame is different - you may need a screwdriver,
hammer & panel pins etc, depending on how the backboard
is attached to the frame)
Newspaper
(to protect the table/floor while painting)
Paint suitable for your frame
Blackboard paint
Paintbrushes
Chalk
String/ribbon & staple gun
(optional - may be needed for hanging the frame or attaching a piece of chalk on some string/ribbon)
What to do
1. Disassemble the frame and carefully dispose of the picture & glass or mirror insert.
2. If the backboard is missing or in poor condition use the frame or old backboard as a template, draw around it, cut a fresh backboard, sand the edges smooth & wipe with a damp cloth to get rid of any dust.
3. Optional - Place the frame on some newspaper and paint the frame (following the instructions on the tin, and applying a base coat & extra coats of paint if necessary).
4. Place the backboard on some newspaper and paint one side with the blackboard paint (read & follow the instructions on the tin), leave to dry.
5. Apply 1 or 2 additional coats of blackboard paint leaving to dry between each coat.
6. When everything is dry reassemble the painted backboard in the frame (I've fixed the frame in place with panel pins and gummed art tape).
7. Hang the framed chalkboard on the wall, stand back and admire your work.
Here's the frame before and after:
...and finally, here's an old brass mirror that I gave the chalkboard treatment to: (sorry about the fuzzy first picture.)
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