First Day of School Chalkboard Canvas Tutorial

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I became obsessed with scrapbooking.  I spent Friday nights with friends at a local “crop night” and glued, cut and stenciled my memories into a beautiful masterpiece.  Until I had the baby.  Now that life is more hectic, I look for simpler ways to remember the moment and I just love this First Day of School Chalkboard Canvas idea.

What You Need:

• 1 white 18″ x 24″ canvas
• Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint
• Apple Stencil
• Painters Tape
• Martha Stewart Crafts Multi Surface Glitter Acrylic Paint in Candy Apple
• Martha Stewart Crafts Multi Surface High Gloss Acrylic Paint in Green Curry
• Martha Stewart Crafts foam pouncers (1 3/4″ and 1″)
• Chalk
• Eraser

All of my supplies were purchased at Michael’s Craft Store for a total of $20.

How to Make It:

• Lay your blank canvas on some newspaper or tarp to protect the surface.  Spray the canvas with the chalkboard paint in long even horizontal strokes.  Don’t overspray or drips will develop.  Let dry for at least one hour and spray a second coat in a vertical pattern.  Don’t forget the sides!  Let dry for 24 hours.

• Place the apple stencil in the upper left hand corner of the canvas and tape into position with painters tape.  Using the candy apple glitter paint and the 1 3/4″ foam pouncer, fill in the apple.  Let dry for 1 hours and reapply until the apple is totally covered.  It took about 4 coats for me as I found the black hard to cover with glitter.  When the apple is dry, fill in the leaf with the green curry high gloss paint and the 1″ foam pouncer (I only needed one coat for this).  Dry for 24 hours.

• To prime the chalkboard, use the side of a piece of chalk to cover the entire canvas in chalk.  Erase.

• Finally, write your child’s grade an career aspirations on the board for all to see!  Make sure to take plenty of pictures and enjoy this moment forever!

This post is a tutorial by the Experimental Mommy.  I was not compensated for this post and did not receive any of the materials as promotional items.