Trashy Tuesday Old School Green Chalkboard from Print

If you have come over to see what I have pulled out of a dumpster, you will have to check some back posts.  It has been POURING rain here and there is NOTHIN to be had these days.  Good thing, I am using up the last of what I have.  Getting ready for my 2nd Christmas, which will fall on December 26th when everyone throws all the stuff they didn’t want from Christmas.  Yes, people throw out NEW stuff.

I have to admit.  I am a chalkboardaholic.  I would have them in every corner of my house if I could.  Wait a second, I do have them in almost every corner of my house!  They are perfect for Type A, list maker people like me.  And I have them displayed everywhere so I can remind my family of all the things they need to be Type A about as well.

For the Holidays, I am spreading some Old School Green Chalkboard Cheer.  I LOVE the look of those Vintage Green chalkboards.  I almost never buy a chalkboard either.  I like customizing them for my decor.  This chalkboard was actually an old print my parents had hanging over their bed while I was growing up.  It was very much a product of the Mauve and florally filled 80’s.  

My mom recently passed it on to me with permission to do whatever I wanted with it.  She has great taste, and it evolves over time, lest you think she ask me to keep this print exactly as it was….

Luck would have it that the size was perfect to hang over my mantle.  I wanted to a cheery Old School Green chalkboard instead of the traditional black this time.  I also wanted to customize the color.

I mixed up 2 parts 100% Natural CeCe Caldwell’s Michigan Pine (which is a GORGEOUS color) and one part Alaska Tundra Green and one part Emerald Isle Green. The result was the perfect Old School Green Chalkboard.  (photos of paint courtesy of CeCeCaldwells.com) 

I painted two coats of my Old School Green right over the paper.  When this was thoroughly dried, I covered it with pages from of catalogues that are jamming my mailbox every day.  Painted the frame in one coat of CeCe Caldwell’s Simply White.  

When this dried, I lightly distressed and burnished the finish with a piece of 400 grit sandpaper.  Then I used a piece of plain brown craft paper and burnished it some more.  The paint actually gets shiny and burnishing like this creates a gorgeous smooth, patina.  Really neat huh? 

Here’s a Chalkboard tip.  When you have a brand new chalkboard on your hands, you have to “season” it before you write on the board.  You season it by rubbing a piece of chalk all over the surface.  You can wipe it clean with a rag, you can even wipe it really clean with a damp rag and make it look good as new.  If you don’t season your board first, whatever you write on the board will be “burned” into the paint and you won’t ever really be able to erase the first chalk marks.

Onto my Christmas Message.  I am no Old School chalkboard artist, but I can copy pretty well.  I simply found an example I liked on Pinterest and just eyeballed the whole thing.

I am so happy with the finished result. I couldn’t say this project was truly worthy of Trashy Tuesday.  But….it definitely was not being hung up anywhere in its current state.  I love that I used something that was nostalgic to my childhood, given a new life as a modern day – old school green chalkboard.

Merry Christmas and Happy Trashy Tuesday.  Remember, if you get a print for Christmas you don’t like and you can’t return it, don’t get rid of it.  Turn it into an Old School Green Chalkboard!