Objects are smaller than they appear….because I held the camera real close to make the framed chalkboard appear large size.  Wish that worked when people take my picture.  “Oh, I’m really much smaller than in the photo!” 🙂

Framed Chalkboard

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Walk down the trim aisle in your local hardware store.  Take the smell of fresh lumber.  Then take a look at all the awesome trim.  This is one of my favorite aisle in a lumber store.  All the dental molding, egg and dart, and beaded molding.  Great place to get inspired.  Look for trim that has a flat back.  It will be sold by the linear foot. What that means is $1.95 is not the cost of the whole piece, but the cost of one foot.

This beautiful piece of trim is left over From my cabinet I made for our Humane Society.  I have four plans for this small piece of trim.

1. Make a speedy video to share how to make a framed chalkboard easy.
2. For this post to write how to make a frame chalkboard easy.
3. To share how to use up the scraps from the frame.
4. And later I will try to make a speedy video of the frame falling into sawdust.  That’s why mine is small. 🙂

How to make a framed chalkboard

Supply list

Piece of MDF {Cut the to size of your chalkboard}
Trim {Enough to go around all four edges of your chalkboard, plus the width of trim times 4}
Miter saw
Quality wood glue
Chalkboard paint
Paint for your frame
Paint brush

This is the back of my finished chalkboard.  When you measure to cut the trim, let it overhang the MDF a bit.  My trim is 2 inches wide.  About 1/2 inch overhangs the MDF.

Measure and cut your trim using the miter saw at the 45° angle mark.  A box miter saw would work too.

As you’re cutting back-and-forth along your trim, you’ll end up with triangle pieces of scraps.  Plus a half triangle scrap.

 

Cut the extra half of triangle from the leftover piece of trim.  This also cleans up any leftover scrap…and keeps you from jabbing that point into your arm when digging in the wood bin.  Yes, I’ve done that a few hundred times!

When all the cutting is done, You will have a frame and a little square architectural piece.

Here’s the speedy video I was talking about above. 🙂

Next paint the chalkboard area of the MDF.  Let dry.

Then paint the frame pieces.  Let dry.

Now assemble the chalkboard using a quality wood glue.  I always use this wood glue.  The seal is stronger than the wood.  Most of the frame is glued on the surface of the MDF.

Then for fun glue the scraps into an architectural square.  No MDF required.  Yes, the wood glue is THAT good.  And not a nail in sight!

This is how small my framed chalkboard turned out.  It would be just as easy to make one 5 times larger!

I craving a powdered donut.  Wish they made my waist smaller.

Let me know whatcha think about this simple idea.