Father's day is coming up and I couldn't think of anything to get my dad. He is one of those difficult people to buy presents for because when he needs something he just goes and gets it. Usually I'm a big fan of grabbing a gift card and writing a note on it but not this year! My dad is really into running and biking so I thought I'd make him a nice display for all of his race bibs and medals he has packed away. Unfortunately, after I bought all the stuff for this I found out that my mom had accidentally thrown away all of his race bibs and it's a little bit of a sore subject... haha it's a good thing he has at least a few more races left in him.
Supplies:
- 15"x 36" Project Panel (bought this one at Lowe's for around $8)
- Small can of wood stain
- Chalkboard Paint
- Spray Paint
- Paint Brush and Rag
- Clips (I got my board with clips on it for $2 on clearance at Hobby Lobby, but you can just buy clips and attach them however you like)
- 8 1/2"x 3" Hex Head Screws
- Added Decorations ( I added a "No Speed Limit" sign and a metal arrow that were both from Hobby Lobby)
- Enough screws to attach your decorations
First I started out by taping off where I wanted my chalkboard. I wanted mine to look messy so I didn't worry too much about the lines being perfect.
I did the stain next. I used a brush to paint it on and then rubbed it with a rag because if you don't the stain is too dark and you won't be able to see all the pretty wood grain. Also, don't forget to do the sides!
After that was all dry I removed the tape and started in on the chalkboard. Make sure that you read the directions for your chalkboard paint. Mine said to do 2 coats, one horizontal and one vertical, and to let it dry 1 hour in between. So I painted it on and let it dry while I finished my project, then I went back and did another layer.
While the chalkboard started to dry I took all of the large and small screws I was going to use and spray painted them brown to match.
Once the screws were dry I moved on to putting in the large screws to hold the medals. I started out by pre-drilling some holes about the same size as the screws. You're still going to be putting the screws in by hand so don't make them too deep, I think ours' were about 1/4"-1/2".
Make sure when you're drilling the holes to do them straight down. We did the first one and measured how far down we went and put a piece of tape on the drill bit so they would all be the same depth. Once you have all of the holes drilled all you do is take the screws and start twisting them in by hand, once you get them standing up you can use a wrench to get them down deep enough to be stable.
After that all you do is attach the rest of your decorations and do your last layer of the Chalkboard paint and you're finished!
I don't have a picture of it all hung up, but once I give it to my dad I'll update this with a better one.
