DIY Large Chalkboard Easel

The end of the summer is rapidly approaching, which means it’s almost time for back to school! Now that I landed myself my first big girl job, I’ve been looking into ways to make my office more appealing for both myself and my students. To help with this endeavor, I partnered with my good friends at DAP Products to create a large chalkboard easel to have some fun with. This project is a super simple build and cost me right under $50 to make!

To help figure out if this project was a success, I enlisted help from a special helper — my niece!

She gave this project the big oh-kay, which means it’s a hit (she clearly has really good taste for a 3 year-old)!

Here’s the step-by-step for the plan. Psst… it’s also available in a Free Printable Plan as well! Just click here for the download!

(P.S. This plan includes affiliate links. For my full disclosure policy, please click here)

What You’ll Need:

Tools
Pocket Hole Jig
Drill
Brad Nailer
Sander
Sanding Block

Materials
(2) Half Sheets Particle Board
(4) 1 x 4 x 6″ Common Boards
½” Brad Nails
1 ¼” Pocket Hole Screws
DAP Carpenter’s Glue
Chalkboard Paint
(2) 2 ½” Hinges
Walnut Wood Stain
Small Paint Roller
Paint Brush
Plastic Bumpers
Twine (optional)

The Steps:

1. Cut your 1 x 4 x 6’s into the following pieces:
(4) 24″ Short Frame Pieces
(4) 41″ Long Frame Pieces

2. Drill pocket holes in the backside of the long frame pieces.

3. Use wood glue and pocket hole screws to attach your long and short frame pieces. You will be making two frames.

4. Sand down your frames.

5. Stain the frames. Mine were stained with a walnut color.

6. While the stain dries, lightly sand down the particle boards.

7. Use a small roller to paint both sides of the particle boards with chalkboard paint.

8. Once all pieces are dry, use carpenter’s glue and brad nails to attach the chalkboards to the frames.

9. Place both boards upside down and attach hinges to the backs and tops of the chalkboards. At this point, you can add some twine to the bottom of the boards if they don’t stand up alone. This can be done by drilling a hole in both sides of the boards and tying twine between them (not shown in photos).

Tip: Add bumpers to the bottom of the chalkboard if you’re keeping it outside – they will keep the wood off of the wet ground!

Now draw something cool on that chalkboard!

Or, have a helper do it for you!

Still interested in printing these plans and keeping them around the house for later? Click here for the download!

Want to save this project for later? Pin It!

For all of my friends who are going back to school, I wish you all a happy school year!

This post is sponsored by DAP Products Inc. All opinions, project designs, and decisions to include my 3 year-old niece in this project are my own. For my full disclosure policy regarding sponsorships, please click here.