Hi friends!
I have (finally!) completed my first DIY in our new house and I am so excited with how it turned out! I have always been so nervous about trying to tackle chalkboard lettering but I figured out a technique that makes it super easy! Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can do it!
I found my chalkboard at Lowes and fell in love immediately. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, let alone where I was going to put it, but I couldn’t resist. Of course, the fact that it was on sale at the time didn’t hurt 😉 . I love the hooks on the front, but didn’t really want to use them to hand coats/clothes on. While I was looking for inspiration for my board on Pinterest and discovered that you have to prime a chalkboard before you write on it or else you’ll always have a shadow of what you’re writing left over whenever you try to erase it. Don’t ask me how I know 😉 , just go prime your chalkboard before you do anything else.
Okay, now on we go. While browsing Instagram one day I happened upon #mugrackmonday and a lightbulb went off! I had the perfect wall in my kitchen for my chalkboard and could show off my favorite mugs to boot! The first thing I did (after priming my chalkboard) was peruse Pinterest for inspiration. I fell in love with this one from Kari over at Rad and the Rest, she is soooo talented!!
Next thing I did was cut a sheet of paper to fit the chalkboard I was working with. If you don’t want to try to draw the design yourself, then you will want to print out your design large enough to fit the space you are working with. While I love Kari’s design, I wanted to tweak it a bit to fit the space I was working with and to make it my own. This is what I ended up with:
Once I had my design sketched out the way I wanted, I flipped the paper over and grabbed my chalk. Laying the chalk flat on the paper, I rubbed back and forth over the entire back of the paper making sure to over lap the edges of my sketch so it was all covered. I rubbed as much chalk on the paper as it would take and then flipped my paper back over and shook the excess into the trashcan.
I fit the paper over the chalkboard, centering it, sketch side up, chalk side down and secured it with tape. I used my pencil to draw over the sketch again, pressing firmly the entire time.
All that I had left to do at this point was go over the transfer design in chalk to darken it up and make it stand out a bit more. Kari shares some excellent tips about how to make this process super simple in her chalkboard lettering tips and tricks post. I went over the transfer lightly to give you a better idea of what I am working with after I transferred my design.
I am so so so excited with how mychalk lettered mug rack turned out. It’s the perfect spot to show off my favorite Rae Dunn mugs! This project was so much fun I almost want to take the board down and try something else!
Do you have any favorite every day items you like to show off? Let me know in the comments below!