How To DIY a Large Chalkboard: Monthly DIY Challenge

Hey Hey! It’s the 2nd Wednesday of the month! If you’re new here you’re probably asking yourself, why does that matter? It matters because on the 2nd Wednesday of every month it’s monthly DIY challenge time. A group of my blog besties and I have been doing this challenge for several years and we enjoy it so much. This month’s challenge item is, as I’m sure you guessed from the title, chalkboard paint. Believe it or not, I’ve never ever used chalkboard paint. Chalk paint? Yes. But never chalkboard paint so I was pretty excited to try it out. I decided to put it on the back of Landon’s (my 12 year old son) sliding bedroom door we built when we gave his room a makeover. I thought a nice big large scale chalkboard would make a nice statement.

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You will need:

Sandpaper (120 & 220 grit)

Electric Sander (optional)

Clean, damp rag

Primer

Chalkboard Paint

Foam Paint Roller

chalk

Image to transfer to chalk board

How to DIY a Large Chalkboard

To start, because the door was raw wood, I sanded with 120 grit sandpaper then with a finer 220 grit sandpaper. I use this electric sander and i absolutely love it! After I cleaned all the dust away with a damp rag, I put on a coat of Kilz primer because that’s what I had on hand. Next I put on 2 thin coats of this chalkboard paint. I used a 4 inch foam roller to get a super smooth finish with both the primer and the chalk board paint. Once your chalkboard paint has dried for 24 hours you need to season it, by rubbing chalk all over it then wiping it away.

Next came what I think is the most fun. The chalkboard art!! I VERY BRIEFLY considered a life size Darth Vader, haha! Then I came to my senses and with with this digital print I bought for $3.50 on Etsy. I LOVE the mountains. I don’t know how I spent 20 years of my life without them. They do in fact call to me. Once downloaded, I went to blockposters.com and chose the size I needed for my chalk board and printed the print out. This site will blow your image up, then print it on multiple pages.

Once all the pages were printed, I taped them together, covered the back of the large image with white chalk and then taped the whole thing to the door. Take a pencil and trace the outline of your image into the chalkboard. Once finished take your paper image down and fill the outline with chalk. Next I used a wet q-tip to clean up all around the art. Easy peasy! We just hung the door back up and we’re good to go.

I love how it turned out! Those mountains, swoon. Have you used chalk board paint before? Did you love it? How do you create your chalkboard art? I would love to be able to free hand lettering. Be sure to check out all of the other beautiful chalkboard projects from my friends below! I’m certain you will be inspired!!