DIY Coffeehouse Chalkboards -

Last week I shared with you all some cute ideas from a "Coffee Bar" themed event I recently did and today I want to show you how I created the large chalkboard style art.

First, I was inspired by the chalkboard artwork I saw at Lilly and Val…aren't they cute?

Here are the materials I used:

Large black foamcore boards from Dollar Tree and Opaque White Paint Pens…that's it! Oh, and a pencil!

First, I started off by drawing a decorative border around each board. Here's one style.

Here's another style. I did these free-hand and they were easy.

Then, I used a pencil to sketch in the words and lettering, after I was happy with the way it looked (and after a lot of erasing) I traced over the pencil with the white paint pens to create the words.

A few tips here:

1. Change up the font style for a more interesting chalkboard

2. Use your paint pens to add thickness and interest to the lettering.

3. Use decorative scrolls and drawings to fill in empty spaces.

4. Sometimes the white paint pens get thin, so tracing over the lettering a few times will give it a "whiter" look.

5. It doesn't have to be perfect, they are supposed to look like HANDWRITTEN chalkboards remember!? That's part of the charm of these.