Pinterest Challenge: Chalkboard Menu

I've been wanting to make something with chalkboard paint for some time now and thanks to Young House Love and Bower Power, I finally got that last little push to tackle another pinterest project.

I've found several inspiration pictures out there utilizing chalkboard paint and decided on a menu for the kitchen in hopes of getting back into meal planning.

From Heather at WhipperBerry

After a trip to Michael's, I was ready to go with my project supplies: frame, paint, roller and chalk.  The letters were left over from my map project (that I also used for some gallery wall art).

I kicked it off with a little spray paint action on the black frame to turn it white and then tested out the two shades of chalkboard paint that I picked up.

Chris and I love blue, so I was really hoping I would like the blue paint but it was a little too light against the white frame.  Black it is!  I rolled on the first coat and let it dry for an hour before adding on another layer.

I'm not sure if it was the roller or the early morning outdoor conditions, but I opted to add the next couple of layers with a sponge brush instead.

After layer 2 or 3

While I waited for those coats to dry (I ended up doing 4 coats on the glass), I started on the letters.

The original plan was to paint the wood letters white and then attach them to the actual chalkboard painted glass, but after some thought I decided to change it. Gotta love a mid project switch!  I wanted as much area as possible to write on the chalkboard and the letters would be taking up some prime real estate.  I played around with putting the letters on the actual frame instead and loved it.  Of course, the white letters on a white frame were a little hard to read so I added two coats of blue paint from the craft bag (can't wait to have my supplies organized!).  A little tacky glue later and the letters were good to go.

The bottle says to allow the chalkboard paint to cure for at least 24 hours before conditioning it, so it was time to play the waiting game. I really wanted to finish the project before we headed out of town, but I decided it was better to be safe than sorry so the paint sat there for 3 days while we partied it up in Houston for our friends' son's first birthday.

Sunday afternoon was time to condition the paint, but I probably could have done a few more passes before writing on it.

And one shot in the kitchen.

All in all I really like how it turned out and can't wait to hang it in our kitchen!

Have you completed any pinterest projects lately?