DIY Birthday Chalkboard Tutorial

Ever since my post about Callie's first birthday party I have received a ton of questions about how I made her stats "chalkboard."  My sweet niece just turned one and her momma asked me to make a chalkboard for her, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make a tutorial to answer all of your questions! 

Here are the supplies you will need:

• Black foam core board (Can be found at Hobby Lobby or other craft supply shops)
• Metallic permanent markers (Max Pen UltraMark are the best and can be found at Walmart)
• Pencil
• Ruler or straight edge 
• Baby stats

The first step will be to find a font you want the name to be written in.  I free handed all of the letters and writing but if you are, shall we say, craft-challenged you can also just print out the letters using a computer, cut them and trace with a pencil.  Once you have picked the font use a straight edge to guide the writing and outline the letters in pencil.  **Note- do NOT use a lot of pressure when drawing with the pencil, you want the line to be barely visible.  If you make a mistake do NOT erase.  If you erase on the black board you'll be able to see a faded line from the eraser. (See picture below) I promise you won't be able to see the thin pencil mark mistakes once the board is complete.

After you've finished the outline take a marker and trace over the pencil lines.  This is a great time to add details, don't be afraid to make the lines more bold, you want the name to really stand out.

The second step would be to draw the scroll under the name.  It looks super complicated, but I promise if you just break it down step by step and draw each part as you go, it's not too difficult.  Follow the same steps as before, use a pencil to draw and then trace with the metallic marker. 

At this point go ahead and section off the areas where you will list the 1 year information.  I just used a straight edge and added a little decoration on the ends. 

 Now the fun begins.  Experiment with different fonts on the computer, type out what you want to write and then eyeball it as you use a straight edge to keep the words from looking crooked.  Don't forget to add fun details like flowers and pictures of the things you've written to add a little more to the board. 

That's all there is to it!  Make sure to allow a good chunk of time to make the board.  When I did Callie's I started a month in advance and just added details as I got the time.  If you do it right before the event you may get too fatigued to really do a good job and it will show in your work.  This whole thing should cost you less than $8.00 to make and it's permanent!  You can't beat that. 

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!