Chalkboard seating charts are very popular right now. So I thought I’d share some I just completed and explain the process for those who’d like to DIY it.
It all starts with preparation. For this project, there were actually 3 boards approximately 6′ x 3′.
They were made out of plywood and painted with chalkboard paint. (They were made by another company and delivered to my home studio.)
You can purchase plywood at Loew’s or Home Depot and have them cut them to the size you need.
The chalkboard paint for this project came from Loew’s. It’s made by Valspar.
The first step is measuring the space you have, allowing for room on the sides (these fit into custom made holders) and figuring out the height of the lettering and the spaces in between names as well as the space needed to accommodate two columns if needed.
For these boards, there were 216 names. The size for each name was 1″ and the spaces in between were .5″.
Next I designed the headers. Here’s a pic of one laid out on my light table. If you are not a lettering artist, you can use a font. Just size it on your computer, print it out and trace it on the board. You can do the same with flourishes.
My Belluccia and Dom Loves Mary fonts can be used if you want a script font. Both also have flourishing packages you can purchase separately as well if you want to combine with a font you already have.
The header is transferred onto the chalkboard with transfer paper in white. This can be purchased at any craft store. You can see in the pic that I created the lines and spaces using painters tape that I cut to be .5″.
This eliminates the need to erase lines as you will also spread the chalk marker paint as you erase.
Note: Try to find .5″ tape, masking or painter’s tape, to save time. I found it after the fact at Uline.com. I did not find it at any local stores.
You can then go over the flourish and letters with a chalkboard paint marker.
The one I used was called “Bistro Chalk Marker”. It’s made by Marvy and can be found in single colors at Hobby Lobby.
If you make a mistake, be sure to wipe it off right away. It says that it comes off when you want but that wasn’t my experience.
But if you wait too long and need to paint over to re-do it, be sure to wipe off as much as you can with a wet rag or else it will bleed into the paint.
A note to remember…if you are going to do the list alphabetically you are limited on making any last minute additions or changes.
I would suggest, unless you are totally sure about your guest list, to list by tables. Even if you have to paint over a name, you have more flexibility.
Here’s a pic of a small Chalkboard Welcome sign I did for a previous client using my Belluccia font, flourishes and ornaments.
You can also check out more signs from these previous DIY Chalkboard posts here , here and here!
I’m busy at work designing a new font, but in the meantime, you can check out my current two calligraphy fonts here.
Belluccia has remained on the Best Sellers list for 19 months was named one of Myfonts Most Popular Fonts for 2011 and is available at myfonts.com.
My second calligraphy font, Dom Loves Mary (a “December Rising Star” and 2012 Best Seller) is also available on myfonts.com.
Wishing you a Wonderful Weekend!
Debi
