DIY Chalkboard Sidewalk Sign

Don’t you just love those chalkboard signs you see out on the sidewalks at restaurants?  I love them!  So when it came time to start getting stuff ready for my big sister’s bridal shower, one of those signs was an obvious choice to help direct guests down my parents’ street.

Unfortunately, after scouring the internet for a few days, I wasn’t coming up with anything remotely cheap.  Brand new ones were running around $100 with shipping.  Used ones were in the $50-ish range, but you were spending like $25 on shipping (thanks for nothing, eBay).  I even checked Craigslist, but there was nothing local.  So I was all ready to throw in the towel on that idea when suddenly I had the urge to just build one myself.

We had some 1×2 pine boards in the basement that we were going to use for our kitchen island project.  I ran to Joann Fabric one day after work and picked up two cardboard mounting boards used for displaying cross stitching.  I sprayed one side of each of them with Rustoleum’s Chalk Board paint.  It took a couple of layers to get the look I wanted but thankfully dried pretty quickly.

The pine boards were about 4′ long.  I measured and cut the boards at 14″ (slightly less than the width of the chalk board) using my miter saw which left 34″ for the vertical pieces.  If you’re curious about the measurements, here’s a diagram for you:

Since this wasn’t meant to stand the test of time – or really much of anything as it would only be out by the street for a couple of hours – I decided to just tackle the whole thing with my staple gun ($9 at Home Depot in case you’re wondering).  I lined up my boards and made sure everything was level and secured them down with a clamp.  Using the staple gun, I put two staples on each side where the boards met (if you don’t want staples on the front, then you may want to join them together some other way since it was pretty loose).  I was in a hurry and kind of liked the rustic look it gave it.  If you want to stain your frame, do that now before attaching the backing.  I chose not to as I liked the look of natural pine – well that and my mom convinced me I was trying to take on too much last minute. haha

Lastly, I just flipped over the chalkboard backing and stapled it to the frame.  Easy peasy.

You want to make two of these so you have both sides of your A-frame.  Take 2 hinges and attach them to the tops of your boards (make sure the chalkboard sides are both facing out).  For me, the easiest was to place both frames face down on the floor with their tops touching, open up the hinge and lay it so that it was on both frames, and screw it in that way.  This method just kind of ensures everything’s lined up the right way.

To write on it, I used chalkboard pens I purchased from Amazon.  I figured they’d be easier to read from the road than regular chalk.

This whole project was so easy to make and really made for a great addition to the bridal shower decor.  I mean just look how great it looks at the end of our street.

Here’s the budget breakdown for anyone who’s curious:

• 4 1x2x4′ pine boards(Lowe’s): $8
• staple gun (Home Depot): $9
• Rustoleum chalkboard spray paint (Home Depot): $5
• 2 thin 15″x20″ sheets of cardboard (Joann Fabric): $2
• Total Spent: $24 (w/ chalk pens from Amazon it’s closer to $40)