frame to chalkboard!

i inherited this huge print from my parents' house after my mom died... the pink floral was not quite my thing, but it was such a big, nice frame, i knew i could do something fun with it!
i decided since i can't do a chalkboard wall in our dining room right now, a big fat framed chalkboard would be the next best thing.

i didn't take any pictures in progress because i was too busy trying to make sure the project didn't become a craft fail. let me explain...

1st i started painting the frame heirloom white. then i realized i paint too many things heirloom white & it's getting boring. especially since my dining room walls [where i want to hang the chalkboard] are essentially heirloom white. as a bonus though, the frame did fit perfectly between two windows. seriously, a perfect fit.

so i started trying to sand off the heirloom white, only to realize that the grooves of the frame are way too small for my belt sander & it was really hard to get much of it off. i got about 75% of it off, stained it with minwax dark walnut & called it a day.

i didn't want to have to cut a sheet of wood to size, so i primed & spray painted the glass only to realize when i tried to pick it up that the glass is what makes huge frames so heavy. that's ok because the other thing that happened when i tried to pick up the glass is that it shattered into about 10 pieces.

well, fantastic.

thankfully, i had traced the glass on a piece of plywood just in case before i thought that the glass would work better [hah!] & my lovely hubby cut it for me. a little sanding of the edges later, it fit like a charm & i primed & chalkboard painted it, no problem.

it ended up working fine, but as a sidenote, the wood was not nearly as thick as the glass, so it didn't end up clipping neatly back into the frame like the glass would have. the clippy thingies are bent a little further in than they should be & i'm always worried the wood will separate from the frame. so far, so good though.

here she is:
tough to get a good picture because of the windows, but see what i mean about the perfect fit? there's probably less than an inch of space on each side. perfect for birthday messages:
& other good, good thoughts.
my artsy chalk script leaves a little to be desired- i can't wait to try one of those cafe chalk pen things! i love having a big fat chalkboard in the dining room!