Chalkboard Art

Happy July 4th week! Today I want to share one of my favorite (sort of new) hobbies! Just before Jax was born, I asked Matt to build me a chalkboard to hang in our dining room. He did an awesome job and I've used it so many times that all of my begging him to do it is cancelled out. We picked up the chalkboard sheet and a drawer pull (turned it upside down for the chalk holder) from Home Depot and used some old trim we still had for the frame. Our cost was under $15 since we had some wood stain at home already too. Matt used wood glue which would probably be enough, but also a few screws to secure the frames just in case. The chalkboard sheets are really cool and are a 2'x4' sheet, so you can make the frame using that size or cut the sheet down smaller.  Here's the first one I did about a week before Jax was born that shows the entire board and chalk holder.

Since then I have been THOROUGHLY enjoying my chalkboard time. It is actually really therapeutic for me. I picked up a 24 pack of chalk from Hobby Lobby that I love. After further investigation, it says on the package not to use on actual chalkboards (whoops!), but it seems to work great on mine! I like these because they're small and easier to do more intricate details with. I've tried the bigger ones and they tend to make my drawings look like a hot mess!

Anyways I have gotten quite a few messages, questions and compliments (*blushing*) on some of my chalkboard art posts, so I wanted to share my secret. Pinterest. No big surprise there. There is nothing crazy to it and anyone can do it! I pick a theme, search Pinterest and basically copy the idea. I've searched for summertime ideas, Christmas and holiday ideas, and just chalkboard ideas in general. There are tons of awesome drawings you can use for inspiration or follow them to a tee like I usually do! Here are a few of mine.

Have to throw in my ode to Nole football season! #scalpem

When I planned Jax's first birthday with a The Hungry Caterpillar theme, I found lots of awesome ones and personalized one for him!

And here's one I did for his birth announcement.

When there's no holiday or anything super special coming up, I like to do fun ones like these.

There are all sorts of other pins on lettering, borders and more!

Sometimes I have plenty of time and get in my zone and get creative, like when I did this one for our 1st anniversary trip to NOLA.

And sometimes I want to just do a quick one, like this one for our 2nd anniversary trip where we rafted, zip lined and stayed in a treehouse!

Or this one that just says summer (or really anytime) in Florida!

A plus is that the chalkboard doubles as a note pad and grocery list when I have some space left. This is Jax's first chalkboard note (with a little help from Mama)!

For cleaning my chalkboard in between drawings, I just use a paper towel to wipe the chalk away. I will use a wet paper towel when there are a lot of chalk and colors on the board and it needs a good cleaning. Seems to not damage the board. I don't do this every time because I like the 'seasoning' from the chalk.

Even the drawings that I do with the goal of 'copying' never turn out as good as my guide, but that's the way I like it. I can tell they're mine. It's strange that something so simple can bring me so much joy. I love walking by the dining table and seeing my creations. They make me smile. I hope if you've been wanting to try some that you do! Happy Creating! P.S. Have a great Independence Day! Here's a throwback to Jax's 1st July 4th ;)