Sweet blue chalkboards

Okay, first of all, how excited am I that spring is on the way!  Flowers blooming, birds singing, happy blue skies.  And best of all…yard sale season is right around the corner.

Last week I played around with our jigsaw for the first time.  I used to be really intimidated by power tools – especially the ones that could possibly sever limbs.  But no more!  The jigsaw was actually really easy to use – and now I can do so many things! 

These chalkboards have actually been floating around in my head since I first started this blog.  I found and pinned this awesome chalkboard necklace which was on etsy at one time. 

Source: flickr.com via Carrie on Pinterest

I loved it as a necklace, but it also gave me a great idea for a bigger chalkboard. Sadly, I wasn’t able to actually make one until I overcame my jigsaw fear.  Which took place last week. Finally!



I drew the shapes I wanted onto some birch plywood and then cut them out.  I sanded the edges to help smooth them.



I painted these using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (ASCP).  This was my first time using it as chalkboard paint.  I used Napoleonic Blue and Provence.  I painted each chalkboard with three coats of paint, sanding lightly in between each coat.  Once the final coat was dry, I ‘primed’ the entire thing by rubbing a piece of chalk over it and wiping it off.  And there you have it – two sweet chalkboards. 



I can’t wait to make more.  And I definitely want to try some using homemade chalkboard paint.  (Love ASCP but I can’t be using it all up on chalkboards – that stuff ain’t cheap.)

These lovelies are for sale at Olde Salem Mercantile where I now have two booths going.  My latest booth is actually more of a wall than a booth – but it is a big wall so that definitely counts!  Once I get it arranged a bit more to my liking, I will definitely share some pics here.

Don’t forget – this Friday is the first ever That’s The Ticket blog hop and giveaway.  I can’t wait to see all of your awesome projects!

I am sharing these chalkboards at Todays Creative Blog, A Little Inspiration, TipJunkie, A Diamond in the Stuff, Primp, Domestically Speaking, Sweet Little Gals, Crafty Scrappy Happy, The 36th Avenue, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Simple Home Life.