Chalkboard Art- lets make some!

Have you seen all the craze out there about chalkboard art lately??? Its crazy and fun. I was asked to create some Chalkboard art for my licensing agent and I really had to go in and research it. Wow, I found a wealth of information on how to create it digitally and how to create it on a chalkboard too! It seems like the minute you start researching something you see it everywhere! My church is using it as the bulletin cover art, I just got a magazine with it on the cover, its all over!

Chalkboard art is everywhere!

 I had a blast creating some great sayings for some wall art and thought I would share it with you here, just incase you feel so inclined to jump in and give it a go! I also have free downloadable fonts and chalkboards available on my Pinterest page! I will be showing how to create a fun chalkboard art piece for your home, this will not be digital art, you will be painting it, don't worry, its easy!

I thought I would do a quick demo and tutorial so you can try one of these for yourself. They are really easy and fun and you can get the kids involved. You might be saying, what should I put on my chalkboard? Well, do you have a favorite saying, a poem, quote, just look around, they are everywhere. I happened to see the bag from Hallmark after buying a card and I love the saying.

This would make a great chalkboard for your home or write your own, its even better!

I love to repurpose things so I happened to find a frame I wasn't using with a mat, glass etc but you can just use any frame you might have available. I am doing a Halloween chalkboard since I found some cool papers at Michael's,  but you may choose to do more of a everyday theme, its up to you. All the rules apply the same. I also found a very thick, sturdy piece of cardboard that just happened to be 6"x6". I thought about throwing it away for a half a second and then thought that this would be a great little chalkboard for my demo and it fit my frame, kinda!

I didn't want to buy chalk paint and if you google chalk paint or check out my Pinterest board you will see how easy it is to make. But for this I just used black spray paint with a matte finish. I sprayed my cardboard several times, letting it dry completely in-between. That didn't take long with our heat and the fact that the cardboard soaked up the paint very quickly.  You can transform anything into a chalkboard, which opens up all sorts of fun projects for parties, holidays, dinner parties etc. I just finished a cute gift and will post later, after I give it to them. I will have a follow up tutorial soon.

I was still thinking about my overall design and while I was at Micheal's, picking up some art supplies that were on sale, I saw some fun, cool papers that I thought would be cute around the matte board that surrounded my little chalkboard. I could have left it white too but I thought this looked like too much fun and Mod Podge is an easy way to cover my matte board. See what cool papers you can find, fabric works too!

Next I went to the computer and laid out the text for my chalkboard. This is a great way to not have to free hand your lettering since you can easily adjust the size of the text to fit and print. I picked a fun, chalkboard font and printing the letters to make sure I liked the size. If you want to free hand your lettering remember to figure out your layout first so you don't have to redo. But whats nice about chalkboards is you can redo! I decided on Boo-licious and some lips for my demo but you can use any word or words you like. It was fast and easy. you can use your simple sketches and transfer for your art if you want some art on your chalkboard, lots of chalkboards are all text, don't get nervous!

Now, before I transfer my artwork and text I have to season my chalkboard. This is an easy process, just take your chalk and lay it on its side and cover your board.

 I rub it in with my fingers and then wipe it clean with a dry rag.

Now you are ready to make your chalkboard art. If you skip this process it could leave ghosting marks when you use your chalk on it.
To transfer my artwork I used a paper called Saral Paper and it comes in all colors, is wax free and easy to use. Or you can always do it the old fashion way of scrubbing chalk across the back of your paper and then use a pencil to trace onto the chalkboard. Once you have your text transferred onto your chalkboard base you can use regular chalk and make a point to write with. By dipping your chalk into water first will help create a nice, clean line of white. OR at Michael's they have some chalk pens! My girlfriend told me about them, thanks Lauretta! They remind me of paint pens but they are actually removable, or erasable and come in a wide variety of colors. I decided to use these since my area is small.

These Chalk Markers come with a fine point or like this one has a chiseled point. They can be easily erased with some water to fix boo boo's or blend and area.

After I had all the chalkboard text and art the way I liked it I went to my frame. I took out the paper and figured out how I wanted to put it on the matte and made sure it would look okay. The pack came with two of each papers so I had plenty. I painted the matte with Mod Podge and laid down the first paper.

I then turned it over and cut away the paper from the opening and around the edges with an exacto knife. I then laid the next piece on and matched as well as I could and then did the little decorator cut on my matte.

 I burnished it down as I went to try to get out all the air bubbles and creases as I laid the paper down. I did get a few but they burnished down and aren't even noticeable. Once it was dry I made sure my chalkboard was centered and taped it in and put my frame together. I don't think it needs the glass over it but I put it on anyway. This is a fun project for the upcoming holidays. I think it turned out pretty cute and my little gourd is a perfect addition. I hope if you do one you will share what you did!