I was really excited to get chalkboard signs for the ballroom last month. Not only do they make great signs, but they also dress up the big, bare walls and give a friendly vibe. Below are some of the signs we made and my attempts at chalkboard art!
We made the boards using chalkboard paint so we could have them nice and big.
The first order of business was getting a timetable in the lobby so students can easily see what classes are happening. When I took one freshly-painted chalkboard for a test drive I found it quickly started to look grungy. Chalk dust washed everything out. Then my friend directed me to this wonderful tutorial for using chalk as paint. I wiped the board down with Coca-Cola (works like a charm!) and started over.
To make the paint all I had to do was grind up the chalk and mix the powder with water. A long time ago we got an old-timey mortar and pestle as a gift; I didn’t know what to do with it then but it sure came in handy here. In paint form, the chalk is concentrated; and once it dries, it’s extremely vibrant. Huge difference between the original table I drew vs. the one I started painting.
The painted board is so much easier to read! Need to work on my lettering though.
The next project was to make a menu for the bar. But while the menu was getting finalized, I doodled a little Valentine design for fun:
Then it was menu time. My lettering had improved a little bit by then. Around this time we also settled on an official name for the bar: Corner Pocket Cafe. Corner Pocket is a song by Count Basie, a musician who gets regular play at the ballroom. The name also fits because the bar is neatly tucked away in the corner of the building.
“We have Twizzlers?!” exclaimed our office assistant. Now that people can actually see what we can make, maybe we’ll push more drinks! An important lesson: everything looks far apart when you’re painting up close. But when you look at the menu from a distance, it’s very compact.
I absolutely love chalkboards as a signage solution. They’re cheap to make, and it’s fun if you’re an artsy type.