Transform a Bulletin Board into a Chalkboard
In April I had the best time saving treasures from a dumpster parked in front of an empty house on my friend’s street. One of those treasures was a bulletin board. The owner of the home was a former teacher and I would imagine that this once hung in her classroom. Note that at one time it was attached to the wall by screws.
Since the cork part of the board was stained, I decided to transform the bulletin board into a chalkboard. I started by painting the edges Duck Egg Blue with Annie Sloan paint. I waxed and buffed the edges after applying two coats of paint. I taped off the blue paint and applied three coats of chalkboard paint over the cork.
A chalkboard must be seasoned or any writing will be etched into the paint and won’t be easily erased. To season the board, rub chalk all over the surface and then wipe the chalk off with a clean rag.
After this picture was taken, I wiped it a bit more to remove more of the chalk dust.
My resident artist husband was at work, so I did my best to make a fun summer scene for my board.
The wall on my porch is just a tad too small for the bulletin board but I couldn’t resist hanging it here anyway. It actually could be quite functional in this spot!
Both the Coke and Fresca bottle holders were my grandmother’s, used to transport extra flowers to and from church and garden club competitions for refreshing arrangements. I found the thermometer in a dumpster at the beach!
This bulletin board turned chalkboard may end up in my classroom. It would be a great place to post objectives, reminders, or a fun message.
Sharing With:
Stone Gable, Tutorials and Tips Home Stories A2Z, Project Inspired at Setting for Four, The Scoop at Confessions of a Plate Addict, Home{work} Wednesday at The Everyday Home, Inspiration Exchange at Yellow Brick Road
Beautiful job Paula!
I love the blue surrounding your chalkboard too!
I adore chalkboards….as much as I loved drawing on them when I was a kid. 😉
So nice to meet you too!
With all my heart…Deborah
What a fantastic idea! I never would have thought to transform a bulletin board to a chalkboard. Brilliant, you crafters are 🙂
I love it! Just last week I was also creating my first chalkboard and surprisingly the frame was also painted AS-Duck Egg! I haven’t taken pictures of it, but I hope it looks as good as yours.
Thank you, Christina! I’ll bet that yours will look great!
Hi! I adore your chalkboard! What a great idea! And great art by the way!! And now I know what to do when I cannot write well on the chalkboard. Thanks!
I was pretty pleased with my bicycle art but I’ll have to confess that I copied a picture that I’d printed. I wish I had natural artistic talent!
Paula, this is such a great project – I love it! Wow, your bicycle drawing is amazing – it doesn’t matter that you used a picture for inspiration, it looks fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing this – pinning and going to share on my FB tomorrow! Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Thanks, Cindy. I appreciate your sweet words an the FB share.
I had no idea you could do this over a cork board! How smart! I did it with a piece of sheet metal, but it’s not too light. Genius.
This is absolutely genius!! I really didn’t think this was possible! I have 2 cork boards in storage that I will have to play with now. Great meeting you at Haven
It was great to meet you, too! I
Looks fantastic Paula! I am so glad you saw the potential in this. You did a wonderful job.
I absolutely love this! Great job! and thank you so much for sharing it:) I can’t believe you can paint cork and use it as a chalkboard. So glad I saw this!
This is fantastic, I have an old cork board in my basement I am so tempted to try this. You did a wonderful job.
What a fantastic repurpose/upcycle. Love the blue! Is this on your front porch?
Hello, Shelly! It’s actually hanging on our screened porch that’s on the side of our house.
Hey friend! I LOVE this project! I never would have thought this was possible, but it looks great. I’m featuring you at this week’s Grace at Home–thank you so much for linking up!
Hope all is going well back at school!!
Thank you so much for the feature! I am really enjoying having this hanging on my porch and think that I’ll leave it there and change the art with the season.
School is great, so far!
This is such a great project, Paula, and I’m featuring it on my fb page today!
Does the corkboard portion have to be primed at all? I purchased the chlakboard spray paint, do you think that would work?
I did not prime my corkboard. I don’t see why spray chalkboard paint wouldn’t work. Good luck!
Hi! Just a quick question.Do you really have to wait 24 hours for the spray paint to dry? I waited like 12 hours and it seems pretty dry. Please reply. I’m not sure what to do. Thanks for the help (:
I would say go ahead and paint!
Paula
Never thought to paint over cork, but it looks great! Thanks for sharing.
It worked really well and I find it easier to write on than a hard board that I’ve painted with chalkboard paint.
Does the creases of the cork board show or did it paint up to a smooth surface?
They show a little bit. I actually prefer this surface over a piece of plyboard painted with chalkboard paint.
Hi. I like this idea for an old cork board at my moms house. But are you still able to pin things to it?
Yes, you can still use it as a cork board.