DIY Fancy Chalkboard

I worked on this project for what felt like a long time, but I am so pleased with the final outcome!  There are tons of tutorials on the world wide web for painting things with chalkboard paint, so I am aware that this is nothing "new" or "exclusive."  However, I consider my craft to be a FANCY CHALKBOARD and that is a little different from the norm.  :)  This mirror has been around for years.... my parents had it hanging in their living room.  They remodeled their home and this gorgeous mirror got stuck in the garage.  So, when I moved out of their house and into an apartment, the mirror came with me and thus began our travels.  We shared several homes together and it was the focal point of every living room I've ever had.  However, my new husband and I are living in the house I grew up in because my parents have moved into a smaller home.  So...back to square one:  beautiful mirror, but because of the remodeling my parents did several years back, there is nowhere for it to hang.  I decided that if I turned it into a chalk board it would be more versatile and could go pretty much anywhere.  So, that's what I did.

Start out by cleaning your mirror.  

I used Rust-oleum chalk board paint.

Make sure to stir your paint really well!  I forgot to get a paint stick, so I just used a cheap wooden spoon I had around.  :)  I am painting a mirror that has a bordering frame, so I started painting the borders using a small paint brush.  The mirror was attached to the frame and there was no way of separating them.  It got a little messy, so I'd encourage anybody doing a similar project to use something that has a removable frame.

Even though I didn't "stay inside the lines," the finished product looks perfectly imperfect.  It worked out.  :)

After I painted all of the boarders

After you've used a smaller brush to get close to the frame, fill in the rest with chalk board paint by using a much larger brush.  Luckily my husband helped me, because it took forever.  We needed four coats of paint to cover the mirror completely, and I later learned that we should have sanded down the mirror first.

• It takes four days for the paint to dry completely and be used as a chalk board
• The back of the pain can said to drag a piece of chalk across the finished chalkboard before writing it on.  Erase the chalk, and now your chalkboard is ready!

Below is a picture of the FINISHED PRODUCT!  and I even got it done in time to use it at our "Sweetest Day" dinner party!

We had it out on the porch for our guests to see as they arrived and it was such a nice touch!  Everyone was impressed and I think it really dressed up the chalk board!  Now, I have it sitting in the foyer by the front door, as pictured below:

P.S.  God Gave Me You was our wedding song.  I ran out of ideas of stuff to write on the board that day.  But, it is very versatile and I love it!  :)  It makes me smile every time I see it and I hope that if you choose to make a Fancy Chalkboard, you'll enjoy yours as well!