DIY Chalkboard Monogram

Do you guys remember this thrift store plaque I made into a chalkboard last fall during the 31 Days of Thrift Store Transformations? I had hastily drawn a ‘B’ on it at the time, and our daughter added holiday words or drawings as the seasons changed, but my plan had always been to add a fun monogram. I’m not very good at drawing, though, so it wasn’t until I pinned this chalk-transfer technique that I knew I could finally create my fancy chalkboard monogram!

Well, apparently after waiting 16 weeks. *cough* Has it really been that long?

Anyway, the hardest part was finding a monogram I liked and then making it big enough. I didn’t want just a boring old letter – I was looking for some swirls and flourishes, too. I settled on Apex Lake. Since it came with framed letters, however, I couldn’t go any bigger than what is shown here although the plaque could’ve used a slightly bigger size. In the end I sized it up to 600 before printing it out and taping it to the center of the plaque.

The chalk-transfer technique is as simple as 1-2-3:

1. Coat the back of the printed paper with regular chalk. Make sure to cover the whole area to be traced.
2. Tape and Trace. Turn the printed paper back over, center it on the surface to be chalked, and hold in place with a couple pieces of tape. Then use a pencil to heavily trace all the lines.
3. Imperfection is allowed. Always. That’s our theme here at AOC. It doesn’t matter in the big picture.
4. Lift the print to show the traced lettering!

With the tracing in place, all that’s left is to fill in with chalk or a chalk marker.

I used a chalk marker and I realized a third of the way into it that I should’ve just outlined everything instead of coloring it with the marker, because it looked, well, colored with a marker instead of chalk. I don’t know how else to explain it – you can sorta see on the left the marker-type lines.

I wasn’t about to start over, though, so I finished and then decided to run my trusty sanding block over everything to see if that would smooth out the marker lines some. And it did! I love how sanding tends to blur and minimize mistakes, don’t you?

So now I have the fancy chalkboard monogram I wanted with a minimal amount of effort. I like the bit of sophistication is brings to our farmhouse-like porch and with my newly planted spring bulbs and pansies it helps it to look refreshed for spring. Plus, it was so easy it’s making me think of adding other chalkboards around that I can add fancy lettering to!

Are you doing any quick spring projects to refresh your porch or entry?

I’m sharing at: Chic & Crafty Fabulously Creative Friday Weekend Wrap Up Party Saturday Nite Special and the Spring Pinterest Challenge!

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