My friends and family are great sources of vintage finds for me! My Mom and Aunts were vacationing in North Carolina last year and came across two of these large pieces of art! My Mom knew I could do something with them and the price was so crazy cheap ($25 each!) that she couldn’t pass them up! And I’m glad she didn’t!

I am working on the other one (no picture yet!) for my Mom – I’ll show you that in the coming weeks. But this one above was destined to become a chalkboard for my dining room. I started by painting the artwork with Annie Sloan Graphite. I used to use actual chalkboard paint, but it’s just not as easy as Annie Sloan’s paint! You have to prime, it smells icky, and when done you have to scrub your brush with mineral spirits to get it clean. With Annie Sloan chalk paint – no priming, no smell, and you can easily clean brushes with soap and water. I also like the softer look of Graphite versus chalkboard paint.

Next I gave a quick coat of Annie Sloan Old White, then some Duck Egg Blue and CoCo. Finally another dry brush of Old White. There really wasn’t any plan, I just kind of went with it. I waxed with Annie Sloan Clear Wax and finished with a glaze of Annie Sloan Dark Wax. A glaze is mixing the wax with a little mineral spirits. It just lets it go on easier and settle in the details.

I was happy with it and ready to hang it on my wall! For a client I would have replaced the old wire on the back, but for myself I didn’t think that necessary. Well… lesson learned. Not 60 seconds after I hung this massive frame on my dining room wall – it fell down. Loudly. And broke.

The frame didn’t break (they don’t make things like they used to!), but the artwork, now chalkboard, popped out of the frame and I was unable to get it back in as snug as it was. So off to the hardware store I went. A chalkboard can be made from hard board, sold at any hardware or big box store. I had them cut it to the correct size and went home to paint… again.

After installing the new chalkboard, putting new hanging hardware on the back, and seasoning the chalkboard – I was ready to hang it!

Now this empty little corner of my dining room is finally complete! I just have to reference Pinterest every so often for chalkboard art or quotes! Thanks Mom for this great vintage find! I’ll start working on your frame soon!

… Kristin