Giant Chalkboard {31 Days: Day 6}

I finally did something this weekend that I've been wanting to do for a long time - make a GIANT chalkboard and try my hand at chalkboard lettering.

I'd call it a semi-success. :) You'll see why in a sec.

To make the chalkboard, I used materials I had on hand (continuing one of my 31 days themes - USING what I have), which included a big piece of hardboard leftover from my upholstered headboard project and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint I've used on several projects in the past. I had heard you could use it as chalkboard paint, so I thought, why not try it?

So I painted the piece of hardboard with Chalk Paint and "primed it" with chalk (i.e. rubbed chalk all over it and wiped it off with a soft cloth).

Then I mocked up a quote I wanted to hand-letter in Illustrator. It's a Helen Keller quote that says, "life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." I spotted that quote written on a restaurant window last week and it really stuck with me, so I thought I'd try writing it on my new giant chalkboard.

Looks lovely in Illustrator, right? Well, I tried to copy it by hand, sketching lightly at first...

...and after a few tries and lots of erasing, I ended up here by the end:

Certainly not perfect, but I'd say it was a pretty good first attempt at something like this! Looks like I'll need some more practice before I can call myself the next Dana Tanamachi, but we've all got to start somewhere, right?

Oh, and because you can't tell how big this thing is, I thought I'd stick it up on my TV stand in the living room so you can see how HUGE it is:

It's as tall as my built-in bookshelves! 

Have any of you tried your hand at chalkboard lettering? It's kind of fun to play around with, and the best part is you can always erase and start over!

Hope y'all have had good weekends. I'll be back tomorrow with my first ever HOME TOUR, so you can see how I'm attempting to stay on track with the other part of my 31 Days series: loving what I have - even the less-than-ideal parts.

Read the series from the beginning...

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