I know I've mentioned this 40 zillion times since we got married, but graduate student life really doesn't allow for living out all your decorating dreams. Maybe I should have hung around the Pharmacy department like Nanny suggested. Just kidding.
I was on Pinterest, big surprise right, the other day and saw an awesome chevron cork board. Of course you can totally purchase one of these, but I realized this was just the craft I have been looking for. You see, I've had this cork board from my college dorm days that was covered in old high school pics and homecoming corsages. At 26 there is no need to have a homecoming corsage hanging on my wall. So I striped this puppy clean and have been hanging out with it all summer...waiting on Jeremy to hang it. It was never hung people. Pinterest redeemed his lack of hanging things, but more on that later. Let's just get to the craft.
What you'll need:
cork board
painters tape
spray paint in your color choice
**warning this is a phone photo post, no judging picture quality:)
To start I pulled out my cork board..and removed all the push pins. Don't want to spray paint those push pins. It is also wise to remove any and all homecoming corsages. I'm telling y'all this board screamed 2001!
This is the 3m blue painter's tape I used. I picked up a 1" roll because it was cheaper. If you want to spend a few more bucks get the wider roll.
Next I taped off the edges to keep the paint off my metal border. Then I started with my chevron pattern. Honestly I make the center stripe where I wanted it and then eyeballed it. I used my iPhone for measurement. As you can tell I was really concerned with exact measurement. My spaces are roughly as wide as a Otter Box is long. Very precise people!
I then hauled the taped off board outdoors in a dachshund free zone and started spray painting. It took 2 good coats. I did break every spray paint rule out there considering it was in the high 90's and after bringing it back inside I laid it in the floor only to step on it. Because my brain obviously thought I had acquired a blue rug out of nowhere.
Y'all this tape is amazing! I have used other types of tape only to have it rip off some of my paint. I left this to dry for about 4 hours and came home from VBS and pealed the tape off easily with no problems.
Now the Pinterest tip I saw but am kicking myself for not thinking of is that I used some of my painter's tape and taped off the distance between the hanging hole things on the back of my board. I placed the tape on the wall where I wanted it and nailed my nails in place. Perfect hanging on the first try. Unlike the 30 rehangings (yeah I made that word up) I did with my gallery wall.
Finished product, and it actually works. I love monograms, so it is so much fun for me to be able to monogram things now. I am one of those people who look at girls like they are nuts for going by their soon to be husband's name before the "name change" so to uphold my rule of "its tacky to go by Mrs. Blank Blank when your still a Ms. Blank" {sorry recently I have been amazed at women wanting so badly to ditch their name, I've had the same name for 23 years and happen to be one of the last ones who will have this name in our blood line so why should I be so excited to pretend to change it pre wedding} I with held personally monograming things. I've been a C for 23 years, why should I so quickly change to a B in a moments notice. As a side note: it didn't go over well with Jeremy that I wanted to hyphenate my name, I ended up not doing it, but if a girl wants to who cares, it's not 1723 anymore.
But back to the chalkboard...I am still trying to pry the little metal pieces that held it in the cabnit and haven't had an idea good enough to trust it won't break it. But untill then we will admire our chalkborad grocery list/potential calendar/to do list on the counter. 