DIY Upcycled Chalkboard

I recently moved in with my boyfriend and while he is great at many things, decorating is not his forte (which is fine by me). We both tend to be on the more frugal side, so it's hard for us to spend money on expensive items that we know we can make ourselves. We always like going to Savers (a thrift store) and seeing what we can find on the cheap to turn into something new; we recently found a large picture frame and decided that it should become a chalkboard for our kitchen -- so we could have a visual of our weekly menu, as well as a place to list perishables that we need to use up before they go to waste.

For this project, you'll need a picture frame (whatever size you want your chalkboard to be), and three different types of spray paint.

-Primer that specifies it will stick to glass

-Spray paint for the frame

-Chalkboard spray paint

You'll want to do all of your spray painting in a well-ventilated area.

Spray nice, even coats of primer on both the frame and glass. Do not rush and try to cover it all in one coat. Trying to rush the process will cause your paint to pool and drip. You'll need 2-3 coats. Wait about 1 hour between coats.

After you've waited about 1 hour after the final coat of primer, you're ready to spray paint the frame in the same manner as you did the primer. It doesn't matter if you get the color onto the center, since you'll be covering that up with chalkboard paint later.

Give the frame about 2-3 coats, and then leave it to dry overnight.

After you've let the board dry overnight, use some masking tape to cover up the frame to protect the color you've chosen. After you've done this, you're ready to spray the center with the chalkboard paint. Spray 2-3 coats, waiting about 1 hour between coats. Let the paint dry for about an hour before taking the tape off.

Carefully remove the masking tape from the frame. Let the chalkboard paint dry, anywhere from a few hours to overnight.

When your chalkboard is completely dry, you'll need to season the board so that the first message you write isn't permanently etched into your board. To do this, take a piece of chalk, and rub the side of it over the entirety of the board vertically. After you've done this, leave the chalk markings, and rub the side of the chalk over the entirety of the board horizontally.

After you've seasoned the board, wipe off the chalk. If you prefer the look of a brand new chalkboard, use a damp paper towel. If you like the look of a chalky chalkboard, a dry paper towel will do the trick.

Voila! You've now turned a picture frame into a chalkboard. Decorate as desired.