WELCOME

Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

DIY chalkboard for the wedding

We're getting married tomorrow!  I'm so excited.  Almost everything is done and I feel pretty much ready!

I did do one last-minute craft project yesterday, however...

I've seen plenty of cute chalkboard ideas for weddings on the blogs, but I knew we needed one for our seating chart.  I didn't want everyone to have little pieces of paper at their seats.   They can be so cute at funky/pretty, DIY vintage-ey weddings!

Here are just a few ideas from Ruffled:

I searched and searched for a chalkboard and couldn't find one.  Of course you can make one, but that sounded hard and like it could be expensive--do I have to buy a board and a frame?  Etc.  And I didn't have time to do the painting.

One of my friends kindly volunteered to make a chalkboard for me if I could bring the materials.  I thought about it for a while and searched online--seems like you can turn a mirror or framed art piece into a chalkboard, too; the glass works as a surface.  So I went to Goodwill and found this really, really terrible faded painting print.  Very 90's motel room.  It had plexiglass instead of glass, so it's lightweight and not breakable!

My friend spray-painted it with chalkboard paint!

Then I covered it all in white from the side of the chalk, then brushed it all off.  So that the first things I write don't leave permanent marks.

Then came the hard part.  I wrote the seating lists for our 98 guests, by table.  My handwriting's not bad but I was using blunt chalk, without lines (I measured four rows and three columns, but still...).  It's kinda messy-looking.  I really should have used a chalk pen or more precision chalk tool like I'm sure they have at art stores.  What do you think?  Is it usable?

Does it matter that some of the columns are a little uneven?  What about all that white (black) space between the columns?  Should I draw or write something there?  We don't really have a strong image theme I could use.  Hearts are all I can think of, and that might be dumb.  Swirls going down the two big blank columns?  Please, I'd love your feedback!

We have a cute metal stand to prop it on on the guest book/favor table.  Ohhh, I'm so excited for tomorrow!


P.S.  Here's how it looked at the wedding! 

28 comments

  1. I think it looks great the way it is. You don't want to make it to busy by filling in all the blank space, it could be hard to navigate. It's handwritten with love and that's what counts. You don't need it to be perfect.

    Congratulations and enjoy your day tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think is perfect like this, for the spaces I think you should left it like it is because otherwise you will have too messy, may be just a little curvy line like under menu in the third photo:-)

    OMG just one day you must be so escited, have a happy journey tomorrow and don't worry, everything will be perfect either if it is not like you planned to be:-)
    have so much FUN!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think it looks great! You don't need anything between the columns. I might rewrite the header though, so it's more centered and even. Congratulations on your wedding and have a wonderful time!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ac said it perfectly! Made with love is always perfectly imperfect :) Go with it and have a wonderful day tomorrow!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. congrats!! you're wedding is going to be so cool, especially since you created a lot of it yourself. I can't wait to see what the finished dress looks like :). hope you have an amazing day tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think it is great the way it is. I think the beauty of it is in the imperfections.

    ReplyDelete
  7. i have loved seeing all of your DIY details and your beautiful dress progress--i hope you have an absolutely wonderful time at your wedding! congratulations!! <3

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am so excited for you and to find you!! I adore the Chalkborad and you have given me new ideas!!

    xoxo
    Karena

    Art by Karena

    Come and enter my Amazing Giveaway from Dr Perricone!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous8/05/2011

    I think it looks lovely as it is. The "imperfections" that you see show that it's been handmade with love, that's a wonderful thing. Happy wedding day tomorrow! Congratulations and have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Congratulations! Have a wonderful wedding tomorrow, don't forget to breathe, and remember to soak in and enjoy every moment. It's so easy for the day to go by in such a flash. For how stressful wedding planning can be, it is *totally* worth it to know that at the end of it all you are spending the rest of your life with the person you love. So happy for you :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh I love it. The imperfections make it more charming. If it was all straight it wouldn't be as beautiful. Keep it. Have a wonderful day!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think the columns look great... I would just center the title.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anything made with love is perfect! :)
    I am sure your Wedding Day will be absolutely wonderful. and I wish you and your new husband a lifetime of love and happiness. Sandy.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think it looks just perfect! So happy for your wedding day tomorrow! Congrats to you and your soon-to-be husband!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Congratulations! Cant wait to see pictures of your dress and the bridesmaids all together! I think you should leave the board the way it is. It looks clear and organized- adding anything will make it look too busy!
    Have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous8/05/2011

    Thank you for sharing with us. I think it is wonderful and perfectly hand-done. :) Leave it as is and ease into your wedding day. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I think it's perfectly charming just the way it is! Enjoy your wedding, it's been super fun to watch the process here - can't wait to see pictures of everything - ESPECIALLY the dress!
    Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good luck and wishing you and your hubby-to-be a wonderful wedding tomorrow (and a long & very happy marriage) :) Clairex

    ReplyDelete
  19. I think it looks great! I figure one of the main charms of a chalkboard is having those "imperfections". Congratulations! I've loved seeing everything come together! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. this is SO cute! GREAT blog! :)

    love, rach.
    www.so--hi.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous8/05/2011

    I like it, but if you do decide to redo it, you may want to put the names alphabetically with table numbers next to the names- it looks like it might be hard for guests to find themselves on that list, if they don't know which table to look at. Most weddings I've been to list guests alphabetically.
    BUT, this is totally cute, and would be fine left alone the way it is.
    -Grace L

    ReplyDelete
  22. I think it looks perfect just the way it is. Part of the charm of a chalkboard is the irregularities. Also, I think swirls and swiglles will make it all look too "busy" and be a little harder to read.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I've never seen the chalkboard idea but I love it! I like that your writing isn't too perfect, perfect is boring!

    ReplyDelete
  24. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous8/05/2011

    I can't wait till your back from the honeymoon so you can post pictures! (That wasn't meant to sound mean...) I've been following all the plans, you must be so excited! Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  26. readability is probably important. i think it looks great and homemade. imperfections are personal!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Congratulations! I hope tomorrow is wonderful... all of your DIY things look beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  28. You should have used different colors for each table. I looveee colored chalk!
    And ah, good luck tomorrow! :)

    ReplyDelete

Search

© Create / Enjoy • Theme by Maira G.