The other day I shared our new chalkboard gallery wall. To be honest, the wall kind of stumped me for a while. Once I got my vision of the chalkboards up there, I was lost and didn’t know how to bring it all together. So I just stared at it. For weeks!To be honest … again … I’m not much of a chalkboard person. I know, weird right? Having made a chalkboard gallery wall, you’d think I’d actually be into drawing on chalkboards. It’s not the chalkboards’ fault. I promise. I just have never seen myself as a good doodler, drawer, etc., so when I see a blank canvas, I kind of freak out!But of course, I like a good challenge. So, I went to Pinterest for some inspiration and just started looking for easy things I could fill in the spaces with. I started with the calendar. That was SO easy! I just used a ruler to make the grid, added numbers, and then the month. The lined paper chalkboard (upper right) was kind of a nod to elementary school. I feel like these chalkboards remind me so much of grade school, so I wanted something that showed that.Once I got that far, I figured I should turn this little area into a patriotic vignette for the 4th. I added the blue and red bunting to the top chalkboard (made from scrapbook paper) and brought in this newly updated chair and a few other accessories to finish the space off.If you look closely, the chair isn’t “perfect”. It was a flea market find that was in rough shape. I sanded it all down by hand, but it still had a lot of, let’s say, “character” left to it! Instead of trying to smooth it all out and make it look pristine, I added a couple coats of different blues to it and sanded it a little and let it just be a kind of chippy, distressed little chair. It used to be green and you can see some of that poking through here and there still, which I kind of love. It’s just one of those pieces that says “hey, I’ve been around the block a time or two, but I still have a lot to give”! (Not sure where that came from, but I like it! Ha!)I’m really happy with how this vignette turned out. I sometimes struggle with making vignettes too over-the-top. I wanted this one to be laid back and simple. Something you’d actually see in someone’s house. And now that the chalkboards are actually written on, I’m liking the wall a whole lot more now!I’m curious…do you decorate for the 4th of July? I have to say, it’s one of my favorite holidays to decorate for!
