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May 20, 2013 by Krista

DIY Faux Chalkboard Signs

This post is sponsored by Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft.  I was provided a gift card to purchase supplies and for my time.  All content expressed herein is originally mine and 100% honest and truthful.

This little project went along with our Pirate Adventure Day and our Treasure Map project.  It was another project idea from Jo-Ann’s Cape Discovery collection.  I love the versatility of these Chalkboard Signs!  You can adapt them to almost any adventure day or party theme.  They are super easy and fun to make.  They took less than an hour and my boys played with them for about three days after our Adventure Day… and that’s only because they were sword fighting and broke them.  Boys.

FAUX CHALKBOARD SIGNS


Materials:
– Black Foamcore Board (my local Jo-Ann store was out of this, but I found some at Dollar Tree.  I’ve also seen it at Wal-Mart and Target in the office supplies section)
– Sidewalk Chalk
– Clear Spray Paint
– Razor blade
– Wooden Skewers

Directions:
– Decide on the shape you’d like you signs to be and trace it lightly with the chalk or a pencil onto the foam board.  I went with a stretched pendant shape, while the Jo-Ann signs are rectangular.
– Use the razor blade to cut your signs out.  Be careful and don’t cut yourself!
– Use the sidewalk chalk to write on your signs.  If you mess up, you can use a lightly damp cloth to clean it up, but don’t do this too often.  You’ll make your signs soggy!  If it hadn’t been 1:30 in the morning, I would have embellished the signs a little more.
–  Spray a thin layer of clear spray paint over your signs to seal the chalk in so it won’t smudge.  Notice the “Pirate Cove ” sign in the photo above.  That’s what a smudged sign looks like.  I wanted to try it out and see if it made it more pirate-y, but ended up liking the bright and bold effect better.  I left it so you could see the difference.
–  I then cut my wooden skewers in half and shoved them into the top of one sign and the bottom of another sign to create the stacked sign post look after we had used them during our Adventure Day.  Now Monkey has a little souvenir from the day.

I didn’t put the foam borders around my signs because, well, I forgot to get it at the store.  Mommy brain moment.  I thought they turned out okay though.  Below is a side by side comparison of my signs and Jo-Ann’s version of the signs.  You can find Jo-Ann’s directions HERE.  I love that you could line the boarders of these with lace and ribbons and go all girly and frilly with this project too.  Wedding signs?


Find more fun summer crafts for you kids at Jo-Ann’s Cape Discovery.  Also become a Jo-Ann’s Preferred Customer and receive a 20% off coupon!

This post was written by Krista and originally appeared on While He Was Napping.

I'm Krista. Ringleader here on While He Was Napping, wife to my handsome Mr. Right & momma to my THREE energetic boys, Big J (9), Little J (6) & Little N (4). We FINALLY added a beautiful little girl to our family last December.

I’m knee-deep in Tonka trucks & Thomas trains. I survive our crazy days with Vanilla Coke, Sonic slushies, sweet snuggles and little giggles. When I tuck them in tight & kiss them good night, I get a little time to create & just be me.


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