so its like "a thing" to make a chalkboard about your baby on their first birthday...exhibit a, and exhibit b-a zillion. it's a super cute idea and i'm glad i stumbled upon it before my daughter's first birthday so i could totally plagiarize/customize/use-it-tize? it for her.
i designed the whole lay-out for emily's on the computer first and was mighty tempted to add some sort chalk texture to it, print it, frame it and call it a day. BUT, i didn't. i did print it out as a reference to look at as i painstakingly copied every detail with chalk onto a board sprayed with chalkboard paint. of course i had to make mine "not big and obnoxious" so as to make myself feel like i wasn't being all showy. mine was about 11 x 14 and this made the process time consuming, tedious, difficult, and frustrating. have you ever tried to write tini-tiny fancy font words with a blunt piece of chalk? lets just say i used LOADS of wet q-tips as my erasers. i think by the time i was done (many hours later) i had gone through an entire box of them. also, the table looked like there was chalk shrapnel exploded all over it from my on-going quest for a sharp point. i said to myself "if i ever do this again it SHALL be bigger!" but i did LOVE the frame i got for it and it turned out great so alls fair right?
i designed the whole lay-out for emily's on the computer first and was mighty tempted to add some sort chalk texture to it, print it, frame it and call it a day. BUT, i didn't. i did print it out as a reference to look at as i painstakingly copied every detail with chalk onto a board sprayed with chalkboard paint. of course i had to make mine "not big and obnoxious" so as to make myself feel like i wasn't being all showy. mine was about 11 x 14 and this made the process time consuming, tedious, difficult, and frustrating. have you ever tried to write tini-tiny fancy font words with a blunt piece of chalk? lets just say i used LOADS of wet q-tips as my erasers. i think by the time i was done (many hours later) i had gone through an entire box of them. also, the table looked like there was chalk shrapnel exploded all over it from my on-going quest for a sharp point. i said to myself "if i ever do this again it SHALL be bigger!" but i did LOVE the frame i got for it and it turned out great so alls fair right?
 in the end i'm really glad i did it by hand (even if no one realized it was real chalk) |  cute frame right? so not obnoxiously showy, i know!  |
well, as it turns out- i did get to do it again! three more times actually. two of my friends requested one for their baby's and i volunteered to make one for my niece. it was really fun to design them according to the theme for their party AND every one of them was significantly bigger than my first attempt which made things A LOT easier and more enjoyable.
for the first two i, again, designed them on the computer first and then took to the board with a fully laid out plan. however, for my niece i just winged it! i didn't really have a choice since i did it the night before the party (but i think it turned out just as good).
for the first two i, again, designed them on the computer first and then took to the board with a fully laid out plan. however, for my niece i just winged it! i didn't really have a choice since i did it the night before the party (but i think it turned out just as good).
 isaac's airplane themed board complete with planes, clouds, and "sky writing"  i also had the privilege of designing elsie's birthday invites. they were SUPER fiesta-y and bright. here is one on display with a couple of the awesome party details. i mean there were finger staches... come on! btw those are mariachi rubber duckys in the party favors.... |  noah's party was all about the mustache and bow ties and i took the liberty to add some gentlemanly buttons too  |
if you'd like to tackle your own here are the materials i used:
- matte board, poster board, or foam board for the base
- chalkboard paint in a spray can
(i'd do a couple of light layers- so what you spraying it on doesn't warp too much)
- chalk... duh. you could also add some colored chalk. that would be fun
- q-tips and a small bowl of water for your life-saving erasers
-computer/printer*
*i used illustrator for design mine on a computer first but a sketch would work fine also
- matte board, poster board, or foam board for the base
- chalkboard paint in a spray can
(i'd do a couple of light layers- so what you spraying it on doesn't warp too much)
- chalk... duh. you could also add some colored chalk. that would be fun
- q-tips and a small bowl of water for your life-saving erasers
-computer/printer*
*i used illustrator for design mine on a computer first but a sketch would work fine also
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