DIY Chalkboard Sign

{Ta-da! The wedding project Bri's been working on}}

It is important to me that Brian and I put our personal touches on our wedding day. I want our family and friends to know that this isn't a cookie cutter wedding with generic wedding accessories. I am DIY-ing as many things as I can or buying from Etsy for the handmade and personalized feel. Obviously, the color schemes, decorations and flowers are more my style than Brian's. Okay, all my style. But Brian's opinions and touches are there. For instance, Brian was really the one to pick our location. It was his #1 pick and after I realized it wasn't a bazillion dollars I was on board too. Also, Brian's preferences come through in the food. I am not going to spoil the surprise {don't worry you only have to wait a little over 3 months to find out lol} but I definitely wanted to make sure that he was really happy with our food selection. And probably the biggest decision Brian made was our honeymoon. I wanted to go to Paris. Brian wanted to sit on a beach and relax. I let him win. He got his way. Luckily his way is a pretty good deal for me too. LOL

Brian has been amazing in that he will help me with absolutely anything I ask him to. He has gone to all the meetings {I think he knows more than he wants to about wedding planning now}. I had been looking everywhere for frames that I could repurpose into a chalkboard or a chalkboard from Etsy but I wasn't having much luck. Chalkboards are expensive. Especially because I wanted a big one. Brian to the rescue! He built me a 4' x 2' one from scratch. He amazes me. I knew he could build because he built our entertainment center but every time I am blown away at his talent and abilities. He just creates these amazing things. No template or anything.

{Our amazing entertainment center}

So here's how he built the custom chalkboard sign we'll use on our wedding day & then hang it in our place. Because that is the other important thing. I want to be able to use our wedding details around the house after the wedding. More on that later.

The chalkboard paint is tinted. There are 12 colors to choose from which is nice. Also, we needed a primer for this particular brand. We used a roller to apply all the paints.

{{Brian in action}}

Measuring, priming, painting and gluing.

He used Gorilla Wood Glue to attach the {chair rail} molding to the 4' x 2' piece of MDF. Then he reenforced the molding with screws and a drill. He used clamps to hold everything in place while he worked.

Gluing, clamping & drilling, filled in the gaps with wood putty & the finished corner up close.

He is so detailed. He used corner molding to finish off the edge of the chalkboard so that you don't see where the molding and MDF seam is. It was a small detail that makes a world of difference. In the corner putty picture you can see the corner molding is the unfinished wood. When Brian finished painting it {like in the last pic} I could not even tell that the corner molding and chair rail molding were two different pieces of wood.

{{Another finished picture}}

In the end the chalkboard cost around $60-$70. The ones on Etsy were between $110-$125 + shipping.

It is also really special to know that Brian built this specifically for our wedding day.

The paint was the same one we used on the entertainment center.

I love the color.

It's Behr Ultra Premium Plus Interior Semi-Gloss Enamel

in Ionic Sky.

Feel free to email me with any questions and I will ask Brian.

{{Ash}}