Im so excited to share a project James and I completed this weekend! I have been dreaming of this simple project since Christmas and we finally took measurements and made it this weekend! We and by 'we' I mean James and Emma are also building garden in the backyard and we picked up some other items at Home Depot to start this project..but that is for another post ;)
When I first imagined this frame, it was just a frame with chicken wire so that I could hang all of the kids artwork..but then after months of thinking (waiting, ha!) I decided I wanted a chalk board wall also..since we are renting, we cant paint black on the walls...thus my new vision came to my head.
I started by drawing my vision so James could understand what was in my head. Then we decided how big to make it. The shelf it was being hung under was just a tad too small for what I wanted. So we added a few inches on each side. Decided measurements were 58" X 24".
We knew we needed: wood, brackets, really short screws, chicken wire, board and chalk paint (would recommend a small amount of fabric to cover the sharp wire on the back..save your walls).
I found prepainted white pieces of 1" wood AND I found a pre-done chalkboard what was 24" long (pre-done, bonus!!) which was perfect, just needed to be trimmed long ways. The had guy at Home Depot cut all my wood to size for me! He cut us 2 - 58" for the top and bottom of the frame and 4 - 24" pieces for the inner frame. We picked up some corner brackets and flat vertical brackets (not pictured) and chicken wire... we already had staples (make sure theyre short!) and a staple gun at home for that part.
James got right to work, which is why only half the supplies are pictured hahaha! If he didnt, it may have been another month of starring at it.
Time to build!
Step 1: we attached the flat brackets to 2 pieces of the 24" wood (4 brackets total, 1 for each end of the 2 pieces) and topped with the chalk board. Secure with screws. (Again, small tiny ones you dont split your wood!)
Step 2: Next we added the long 2 pieces. The chalk board is 36"... 58" - 36" left us with 22", which we split 11" on each side (the white frames are 1" thick, so it gives us 10" on each side to hang photos)
Next we moved inside to finish as the kids were getting in to too many tools.
Step 3: Attach the remaining 2 - 24" pieces to the ends. Here is where the corner brackets come in to play. After putting it together, we realized we should have sized up, but we made it work with the smaller ones we got...I was not making a 234687 trip back to the store.
Front and back without the chicken wire.
Step 4: adding chicken wire. This roll came in a 2' by 10' so it was perfect. We started by stapling one end. Then stapling the middle. We used 4-5 staples just to hold it in place (stay near the edge so you stay in the wood and do not go through the chalk board), trimmed down the middle wire and did the same on the opposite side. Once we had the wire on, we realized it was going to damage the wall being flush against it... I found some left over felt and cut 4 -1 inch strips and stapled it over the wire (not pictured).
It turned out perfect. Just how I visioned in my head and drew it out. It was so simple and I hope we do more fun DIY projects soon! The kids have been busy all week making new master pieces for the sides :)
The whole project cost less than $30 and the ones I have seen in the store are all over $50 for what I wanted. Bleh. Do It Yourself! Plus every time I walk by it, im so proud that we made this! Even if its the simplest thing!
XOXO
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