Antique Picture Turned Chalk Board

I love taking old things and giving them a second chance and a new life. I found this antique picture frame at an Estate Sale at a 150 year old house in the borough in town. There were hundreds of things that I could have taken home with me that day, but this one spoke to me. It told me, “I want to be a chalk board.” Alright, not really. But I was on the hunt for a really awesome DIY chalk board project and this frame was too perfect.

Here it is in its original form.

It’s pretty in a “these flowers have been dead for a century” kind of way. So I decided to give it a modern up-cycle using these two paints.

If you take something like this on, make sure you take a Q-tip and clean out all the details. I found this frame in a barn of an estate sale, so approximately 20% of the charm was dirt, dust and insect ligaments. Yeah. I cleaned this thing good.

After it got a bleach bath, I disassembled it. I removed the back and the glass and threw away the paper that had started to disintegrate over time.

Here’s what I used:

• Rust-oleum Chalk Board Spray Paint
• Rust-oleum Aqua Spray Paint

Aqua. Because…. why not? I wanted a fun color that could be bold but not over kill. Spray the paint in even coats over the cleaned frame. Wait 25 mins in between coats. I used 3 coats

The chalk board paint can be applied directly to the glass. It was so easy to do. Make sure the glass is cleaned and has dried before you apply the first coat. Wait 20 mins in between coats.

Store in a cool dry place for 24 hours. When it’s completely dry, reassemble the frame.

Here’s the final result!

Here’s a side by side: