DIY Menu Chalkboard Ella Claire

I have been wanting to build an arched chalkboard for my kitchen for a while now and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. Minwax® is sharing stories and projects of people taking personalization to the next level with the help of Minwax® products and I signed up for the challenge! If you have followed my blog for a while, you already know that I love to doodle on my chalkboard and we use them regularly for decorating, playing with the kids, parties, dinners and more. I have them in many rooms of my home and change them up for the seasons. I wanted this one to be a little extra special since it is in the heart of our home, so we built it with an arch and made it a warm, pretty wood color.

You can adjust the measurements of the boards to fit in whatever area you would like in your home, but I love the dimensions of this one!

Supplies

• 1 board of “underlayment” plywood (super thin- about $12) cut down at the hardware store to 72″x22″
• 2 pine 1″x4″ boards
• 1 pine 1×10″ board
• wood glue
• chalkboard paint
• Minwax® Wood Finishing Cloths (I used the walnut color)
• Minwax® Wipe-on Poly
• chalk

First I painted the underlayment board with chalkboard paint. I didn’t use a primer and used a total of 3 coats, making sure each coat was nice and dry in between. Next, we cut down my 1″x4″ boards so I had 2 at 72″ (sides) and one at 14″ (bottom piece). Then we cut the 1″x10″ down to 14″ as well. I used a big round platter from my kitchen as a guide to draw an arch on the 1×10 and we used a scroll saw to cut it out.

After we finished cutting all of the boards, I made sure that I stained all of them (on their outer 3 surfaces, not the bottom) using the Minwax® Wood Finishing Cloths, following the package instructions and giving it time to completely cure. The cloths are an all-in-one stain and clear finish product so you don’t need a topcoat, but for extra protection I chose to use Wipe on Poly.

I coated the unstained sides of the boards with wood glue and clamped them to the underlayment and to my table, with a large piece of painter’s paper in between to protect my table. I followed the wood glue instructions, keeping it clamped for over 30 minutes before moving.

I also added heavy objects on the long sides just to make sure they stayed in place.

After it was finished, we flipped the chalkboard over and added finish nails through the underlayment and into the pine boards around the full perimeter of the chalkboard.

And that was it! It was a pretty simple project that is now one of my favorite pieces in my kitchen. I love how heavy and nice the real wood feels. It is so much better than the particle board pieces you mostly see in stores now. My hubby and I worked on this project together, and I love how much more meaningful it is that way. I love dotting my home with stories.

I think the arch adds so much charm. I quickly drew a menu on it for now, but I will be securing it to the wall for safety and changing up

the design here and there. You can see how Minwax® can help you enrich the wood and create beautiful and meaningful pieces in your home. Learn how at Minwax.com/madewithlove.

Original article and pictures take http://www.ellaclaireinspired.com/diy-menu-chalkboard/ site


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