DIY Chalkboard from an Old Mirror. - Pretty Real

DIY Chalkboard from an Old Mirror.

8:31 PM

I'm excited to share my latest DIY with you! I haven't had much time to blog let alone DIY, but I did manage to squeeze in a DIY chalkboard from an old mirror.  You know those times when you're not looking to buy anything and you see everything?!  Well a month or so ago was the complete opposite.  It was early in the month (i.e. there was still cash in the envelopes) and I escaped, er, I mean left home for an entire afternoon and visited several thrift and antique stores.  And I got nothing but this vintage necklace.  Which I love.  But still.
But early on in the excursion I'd spotted a cute little mirror and thought it might be the perfect thing I'd been looking for to transform into a pretty chalkboard.  So I went back.  And got it:
old mirror to DIY chalkboard
Sorry for the bad cell phone picture and lack of staging. This is real life people. Plus you get the point right?
 
Then I spray painted it with chalk paint so it looked like this:
Side note: I went back and forth over whether I should tape off the inside and paint the frame first or vice versa...

 
Then I sanded the frame and it looked like this:
 
Next I covered and taped like this:
I thought about painting it some variation of coral (I'm just in a coral mood right now) but wanted to keep it low cost so I used a sample that I already had. 
 
I used a 2 inch roller on the front and a brush on the sides to get this: 
I love how it turned out! It's exactly what I envisioned.  Now I have to figure out where in the kitchen to hang it!
 
And just for fun, an all in one place process photo:
I know these photos aren't great but I'm just patting myself on the back for actually remembering to take them at every step!
Old Mirror to DIY Chalkboard
It required a lot of steps...but wasn't hard per se.  It was also my first time using chalk spray paint.  I'm officially a fan!  By the way, if you decide to try this at home, I'd use a lightweight mirror (this one fit the bill).  I still have had anxiety about it falling and cracking...especially since once it's a chalk "board" it's easy to forget there's really glass under there! 
 
Anyway what was your latest DIY?
 
 
 
 

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3 comments

  1. Wow. This looks great! I've often wondered if you can just spray directly on the mirror and if it would say. Keep me posted on that. I saw a beautiful mirror at a garage sale a few weeks ago and almost grabbed it wondering if this would work, but I, of course, had no idea. And the mirror wasn't dirt cheap. It was still $20, which isn't bad, but since I didn't know if it would work for sure or not, I passed it. I love the blue/black contrast. I'm also really in to coral these days, so would be tempted by it, but I too, have about 20 paint samples and 10 or 15 bottles of spray paint lying around which I would need to use. :)

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    1. I'll let you know Jessica! I also have regular chalk paint so I figured if it chipped I might be able to touch it up with that. This mirror was $14 (normally priced $18)and I thought that was too much! lol. The last several used mirrors I've gotten have been $5 and one was free at a thrift shop that was closing. So I definitely understand. I'd bet you can find a great option for less now that yard sale season is upon us. And then if it doesn't work it won't be as bad as if you'd spent $20!

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    2. So true! Yes I would love to know. I'd like to add one in our mudroom and/or our kitchen. Yes, hooray for yard sale season! B and I hit up an awesome sale this morning! Might put a photo on instagram because it was full of cool old wood chairs, some oars, which I would LOVE to paint and have in our mudroom or even to decorate our garage etc... Problem: I didn't bring cash or a check book because I didn't intent on going. Oh well!

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