diy easy chalkboard letters

I recently bought this cute organizer for my kid’s school paperwork, and was dreading the task of writing their names in chalk. I wanted it to look professional and use it to add some design to my boring hallway. I knew I would need some help! After scowering the Internet and Pinterest, I finally found a simple technique to make my chalk letters. It was super easy and turned out great, take a look!

For this technique you begin with printing your letters using Microsoft Word on a piece of copy paper. I used the Word Art feature, WordArt Style 1, and chose the font Lucinda Bright. I was able to size the names to fit my chalk space. See below:

Next, you will need to transfer your printed stencil to the chalk board. To do this, rub the BACK of your paper with real chalk, making it really chalky. Then lay the letters on top of your chalk surface.

Take a pencil, and applying pressure, trace each letter of your template. Try to keep your palm off of the paper. When you do this, you are making an imprint of the letters onto your chalk surface. See below:

Cool right! Now, take a Liquid Chalk Marker, and carefully trace your stenciled letters. Using a chalk marker can be tricky. I would practice first on paper before trying it on the chalk surface. Go slow and steady. If you mess up, quickly erase it with a damp paper towel before it dries.

I followed these steps for each of my kid’s names. See below:

Once I had each name outlined in liquid chalk, I was ready to add some design. I chose easy polka-dots and stripes to make the letters pop.

For the borders, I used Google Images and found some ideas there. I contemplated using the same tracing technique for the borders, and then I decided to give free hand a try. The borders weren’t too complicated so I was able to complete them myself.

The finished product turned out super cute. I’m so glad I found this easy technique and I am tempted to try it on more surfaces.

Have you tried chalk lettering yourself? What technique did you use?

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