Faux Chalkboard Summer Fun List

Now that school has ended and summer is officially here {well, not OFFICIALLY, officially, but kid-officially}, we have completed coming up with items for our summer fun list. Once that was done, I just had to figure out how we were going to display it.

There are tons of different ideas out there — from clothespins on a bucket {which is a super cute idea even though this goes back to my whole not-calling-it-a-bucket-list-because-I-don’t-want-to-think-about-anyone-dying thing} to a poster like we did last year to this insanely adorable idea of hanging folded cards on a frame.

But what I kept coming back to were all the chalkboard lists, like this, this, or this amazing chalkboard wall.

So without further ado, I present to you: The Young Family 2013 Summer Fun List!

But I have a secret.

That’s not a chalkboard, and that’s not chalk. {So I guess that’s two secrets. Whatever. Math was never my strong suit. And I guess if you paid attention to the title of this post, it’s also not coming as a shock that this isn’t a chalkboard. So much for drama.}

The frame was a poster frame that I bought at a garage sale at least 3 years ago. You know, one of those “OMG, I totally need this, because I am going to do something AWESOME with it” moments. And I did, it just took a while. I wanted it to be a little cheerier than the light wood it was, so I spray painted it bright yellow.

Now for the cool part. The list is actually written on black foam board. I had saved the tri-fold display from D’s science fair project this year, and the side panels were exactly the same size as the frame. It was meant to be.

To make it look like a chalkboard, I used a trick I learned over at Whipperberry. You just take a piece of chalk and rub the side of it very lightly over the whole board. Then just blend it in with an old rag, and voila! You have yourself a faux chalkboard!

You could definitely write on the foam board with chalk, but since the boys will be checking off items as the summer goes along, I knew everything would get all smudged and that would drive me crazy, so instead of chalk, I used chalk markers. Have you ever heard of these things?? They’re amazing — they really give the appearance of chalk, but they’re much clearer and won’t rub off. Love.

See the lettering at the top? Totally not freehand. I am not that skilled. I have the easiest little trick for you for how to do lettering like this on a chalkboard {faux or real!}.

{Be forewarned: what I am about to say is going to age me.} Remember carbon paper? If you don’t, please don’t say that you don’t, because that will make me feel crazy old. I used to think it was the coolest thing ever, and I loved playing with it when I was little. {Crazy news! Carbon paper still exists! Who knew?!?} Anyways. This trick is the same sort of idea as carbon paper.

Type out whatever you want to say in whatever font you want, whatever size you want. I used the Sketch Block font, and I just typed it out in Word. Then print it out. Flip the paper over and cover the back of the text area with chalk. Then flip your paper back over, put it on the board wherever you want it, and trace over the letters with a pen or pencil. When you remove the paper, you’ll have a faint chalk outline of your letters on your board, which you can then trace over with your marker or chalk! How cool is that?

So there you have it! The official 2013 Summer Fun List. And, the most fun thing is that they already got to cross something off today, because the two older boys went to a practice round of the U.S. Open yesterday with Daddy. {Confession: I made this while they were gone and totally cheated and added “Go to the U.S. Open” to the list so that they would have something to cross off when they got home. They were super excited.}

What is the most exciting thing you guys have on your summer fun list?

{Linked to: 733 Blog, A Glimpse Inside, House of Hepworths, The 36th Avenue, Thursday Favorite Things, Thriving on Thursdays, A Little Bird Told Me, Simply Create Link Party, Pin It Monday, Whipperberry}

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