How To Make A DIY Chalkboard

If you are wanting to add an aesthetically pleasing wall decoration to your home, I’m going to show you how to make a DIY chalkboard. It is great to add in the kitchen to keep track of your menu or grocery list. You can use it in your office as a wall calendar to keep track of appointments and kids activities. Personally, I use mine in my living room and I enjoy decorating with it for holidays. I love mine so much I’m making a second one to hang low for my 16 month old daughter to use for activities.

DIY chalkboard hanging on wall above wooden shelf with plants on it

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How To Make A DIY Chalkboard

Tips While Making Your DIY Chalkboard:

If you don’t have a miter saw you can use a handsaw or have Lowes or Home Depot make the cuts for you.
You can use an old t-shirt as a cloth to wipe down your wood pieces. It is much cheaper than buying those fancy stain cloths from the store.
The last tip is you will want to protect your hands and the surface you are staining your wood on. Wear some disposable gloves if you don’t want your hands to smell and lay down a piece of cardboard for the wood to dry on.

Materials:

1-”x4-”x10-ft unfinished pine board
Miter Saw
Unframed chalkboard
#10 3/4” Wood Screws
Two large D-Ring hangers
Small container of stain
Chip Brush
Chalk

Stained wood, stain, chip brush, stained white t-shirt sitting on top of cardboard

Instructions:

Measure out 38” and make your first cut on your 1x4x10ft pine board. After you make the cut, repeat step one, so you have two 38” identical pieces.

Craftsman miter saw with a piece of wood screwed down ready to be cut

2. Next measure out 22” on your remaining board and make the cut. You should be left with two 22” pieces. Make sure your boards all line up correctly. Adjust if needed.

3. Using a electric hand sander, sand down the corners and edges of all your wood pieces.

Two longer pieces of wood and two smaller with a hand sander sitting on top

4. Wipe down your wood with a dry cloth to get off all of the dust from sanding.

5. Open up the stain of your choosing (swirl around in can first to mix up pigments) & evenly apply with a chip brush. Wipe off with a dry cloth. Set aside to dry.

Minwax wood finish with chip brush sitting on top of can

staining materials sitting on top of cardboard box along with stained wood

6. Lay down your pieces of wood on a flat even surface with the 38” pieces as the top and bottom. Place your chalkboard piece face down on the wood. It should overlap the wood a little and that is where you will be placing your screws.

Stained wood frame for DIY chalkboard laid out on the floor

chalkboard piece sitting on top of wood frame on floor

7. Add two screws at each corner of frame of DIY chalkboard. Make sure they are going into each piece of the wood frame so everything is secure. Screw in d-ring hangers evenly spaced apart.