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DIY Chalkboard Sign from Cardboard

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DIY Projects· One Room Challenge· Room Makeovers

28 Oct

How many of you have seen those cute farmhouse-style chalkboard signs? Since I am always trying to figure out how to do things in a budget-friendly manner, I figured out how to make my own DIY Chalkboard Sign, for free, from a piece of cardboard. Check it out!

How to make a large chalkboard sign from a piece of cardboard.

Welcome to week 4 of the One Room Challenge, where I am working on a laundry room makeover… for less than $100!

One of my goals for this room makeover was to add something to the walls… I started with these cute printables that I hung using wooden pant hangers…

Cute Printables on Wooden Pants Hangers for the Laundry Room

Then I realized I needed something for the blank space above the shelf, so I headed to Michael’s thinking I could purchase some wood letters that spelled out “LAUNDRY” or “WASH & DRY”. I got there and the letters were going to cost $3 each (and that was with a coupon). I didn’t have enough remaining in the budget, so I turned to leave. Stop. Chalkboards for sale. I thought the idea would work so much better as I wouldn’t have to worry about leveling each individual letter on the wall, but the chalkboards were all pretty small and would look out of place in such a big area. Then creativity struck. I walked out of the store with a vision. I just needed a big piece of cardboard… like this one.

Piece of cardboard that will be used to make a chalkboard sign for the laundry room

See, procrastinating your trip to the recycle center can pay off.

I cut off all the excess cardboard from the box and started painting it with chalkboard paint.

Painting cardboard with chalkboard paint to make a sign

While that was drying, I started working on my lettering for the sign. Luckily, there are truly creative people out there that share tutorials on how to do beautiful chalkboard lettering for those of us not gifted in the penmanship department. Honestly, I’ve seen a number of these tutorials, so I can’t point to one in particular, but I will share what I did.

How to Create A Chalkboard Sign from Cardboard

Step 1: Create Lettering on Your Computer and Print

Start by creating your lettering on the computer. I used PicMonkey because I like their font options, but you could just as easily do it in Word. Depending on the size of your chalkboard, you will want to create the letters in the correct font size. I created the letters so I could get one letter on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper.

Letters printed on sheets of computer paper

Step 2: Season Your Chalkboard Paint

Hopefully at this point your chalkboard paint is dry, so grab your cardboard piece and go over the whole thing with a piece of white chalk. This “seasons” the board. If you don’t do this, your board is so black from the new paint that every smudge and bit of chalk will show up.

Seasoning chalkboard paint with white chalk

After you’ve covered the whole thing in chalk, wipe it off, and you’ll have a perfect surface for starting your lettering.

Wiping off chalk with cloth

Step 3: Adhere Letters to Chalkboard Sign

Arrange your lettering on the board and tape it down, but only on the top. You’ll need to be able to lift the paper to color on the back of it. Of course, this sounds like the most confusing step, and it’s the one thing I don’t have a picture of… Sorry.

Step 4: Chalk the Back of Your Letter Sheets

Going one letter at a time,  flip your paper up and and cover the backside with chalk.

Coloring back of paper with white chalk

Step 5: Flip Paper Over and Outline Each Letter with A Pencil

Lay the paper back down and go over the outline with a pencil, pressing firmly. Repeat this step for each letter. (Please pardon my dirty fingernails. Cleaning grill grates.)

Tracing letter outlines with pencil

Step 6: Fill in Lettering with Chalk

After you have traced your letters, remove the computer paper and you’ll see outlines for each letter. Color those in with chalk or a chalk marker. Using regular chalk will make it easier to erase if you plan to change the sign often. Because I’m making the laundry sign a permanent fixture, I chose a chalk marker as it’s a bit more permanent (although you can still erase it as well).

Chalk outline on chalkboard sign

Cardboard made into chalkboard sign with the word Laundry in chalk lettering

Step 7: Mount to Wall

I then adhered Command Strips to the back of the cardboard (now chalkboard), and mounted the sign on my wall.

Chalkboard sign made from cardboard hung in the laundry room

This project was done for FREE, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

UPDATE: Several years after creating this sign, we moved; and with us came this “piece of cardboard” sign. I ended up making over the laundry room in our new home (for $100!) and added a wood trim border around it. Can you believe this sign is still with us seven years later?!

This laundry room got a major makeover for just $100. So many budget-friendly ideas in this space!

The Budget So Far

Last week I had spent a total of $17.28 on painting the dryer and making a lint box. Here is the breakdown for this Chalkboard Sign & the Printables.

Chalkboard Sign– FREE

  • Cardboard- FREE (Found in my garage)
  • Chalkboard Paint– FREE (Already had)
  • Chalk Marker– FREE (Already had)

Printables on Pants Hangers– $1.96

  • Printables- FREE (Found on Pinterest)
  • Wood Pants Hangers– FREE (Already had)
  • Gray Cardstock (x2)- $0.78 (39¢ each)
  • Knobs– FREE (Already had)
  • Hanger Bolts– $1.18

Total So Far: $19.24

Wanna Catch Up or Jump Ahead?

Week 1 // Week 2 // Week 3 // Week 4 // Week 5 // Week 6

 

Love it? Pin it!

Framed chalkboard sign made from a piece of cardboard and used in the laundry room

22 Comments

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DIY Wood Overlay to Cover Wire Shelving »

Comments

  1. Felicia says

    July 20, 2019 at 8:40 AM

    I’m curious if you have tried to erase it and if you can reuse it. I just painted the back of a frame that is essentially cardboard. It works well to write on, but I can’t erase it. So, I was curious your experience.

    Reply
  2. Peggy Lynkowski says

    August 19, 2017 at 12:30 AM

    Erin! What a great, creative and cost effective idea! (didn’t want to say cheap however free is the best) Pinned your idea and excited to make one of these for my laundry room! Hope to share some pic’s!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      August 19, 2017 at 7:21 AM

      Awesome! I would love to see pictures of what you come up with.

      Reply
  3. Jessica Guzman says

    September 2, 2016 at 5:04 PM

    O My gosh!!! This is exactly what I have been looking into making I would have never thought to paint cardboard with chalkboard paint. Thank You!!!! Love it!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      September 6, 2016 at 3:24 PM

      So glad you love it!

      Reply
  4. Sam @ Living The Dutch Dream says

    February 8, 2016 at 4:36 PM

    Great idea! I am so going to do this, I have the chalkboard paint already sitting in the shed. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      February 9, 2016 at 7:23 AM

      Great! What kind of sign are you going to make with it?

      Reply
  5. Raquel says

    November 16, 2015 at 12:05 PM

    I love that you made this out of cardboard! Pinning to my chalkboard Board – I am obsessed with chalkboard!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 16, 2015 at 5:29 PM

      I’m completely obsessed with chalkboard too. I just love the look of it. Thanks for pinning 🙂

      Reply
  6. Tiffany says

    November 15, 2015 at 9:40 PM

    Hi, Erin ~ This is such an amazing idea! I’ve been wanting to create several chalkboards but haven’t found just the right one. Now, I’m going to make a few of these for myself. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 16, 2015 at 5:31 PM

      I feel like using cardboard allows you to be able to create whatever size you need vs. what the store has to offer. Although this version is a little more basic, you could certainly add a frame or something to it.

      Reply
  7. Name* says

    November 15, 2015 at 5:58 PM

    Very cute!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 15, 2015 at 9:11 PM

      Thanks!

      Reply
  8. Melva says

    November 13, 2015 at 8:14 PM

    Love the sign, very creative idea! I need one for my laundry area & this is a fun alternative. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 15, 2015 at 9:12 PM

      You are so welcome. I’m pretty impressed with how an old piece of cardboard could turn out to be just what I needed.

      Reply
  9. nicole says

    November 13, 2015 at 6:04 PM

    I really like the fresh clean look! and that shelf is so gorgeous, stain color is perfect.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 15, 2015 at 9:12 PM

      Thank you so much Nicole!

      Reply
  10. Nettie says

    November 13, 2015 at 4:08 PM

    You made me smile when you said you weren’t creative! This is very creative and a bargain to boot! Nice job!!!

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 13, 2015 at 4:17 PM

      Thank you so much for your kind words. I think there’s a little creativity in everyone, we just have to find the right outlet 🙂

      Enjoy your weekend!

      Reply
      • Nettie says

        November 13, 2015 at 4:33 PM

        Thanks, Erin. Have a nice weekend too!

        Reply
  11. Creatively Homespun says

    November 13, 2015 at 10:38 AM

    Seriously can’t go wrong with FREE!!! Awesome!!!! Pinned! xo

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 13, 2015 at 1:55 PM

      Free is always the way to go, right? Thanks for pinning!

      Reply

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Hi there! I'm Erin. Welcome to Lemons, Lavender & Laundry, where we believe that creating a clean home should be done as simply and naturally as possible. [Read More...]

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