I am developing a real aversion to paper! Well, that’s not exactly true. I LOVE paper….(How To Make Beautiful Handmade Paper, How To Make A Brown Paper Goodie Bag, DIY Notecard Purses)….but I hate wasting paper. Ask my family….when I get paper statements/bills in the mail every month that I already take care of online, it makes me crazy!!!! Such a huge waste. I also try to create my To Do Lists and Grocery Lists digitally, but sometimes it’s nice to have it posted somewhere so other people in the house can contribute to it. So these simple DIY boards really appeal to me! Less paper waste….and super cute. :-)

Making your own dry erase or chalk boards is so easy, I almost feel silly dedicating a whole post to them. But I loved how they turned out, so I had to share!

For both of these projects, you need a picture frame. Any size will work. I found these cute frames for cheap at TJ Maxx, but you could easily pick some up at the thrift store, or if you have some unused frames lying around, by all means use them!

DIY Dry Erase Board

Find some paper that you want to use as the “backdrop” for your board. I used a piece of scrapbook paper, but you could use notebook paper, newspaper, or even fabric if you wanted to.

Cut your paper to the size of the glass in your frame. I did this by tracing the outline of the glass onto the paper, then cutting along the traced lines.

If have a specific use for your dry erase board in mind, you can choose to write that at the top of the paper. For example, if you want to use it to keep track of your family’s meal plan for the week, you could write MENU at the top (or use letter stickers if your handwriting isn’t so great!) I wanted to be able to use mine for different things, so I chose not to do this.

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Once your paper is the correct size, simply put it in the frame and voila! You have a dry erase “board”! You can use several kinds of markers on the glass, like window markers, chalk markers (which is what I used) and plain old dry erase markers. Depending on what kind of marker you use, you may need to use a bit of glass cleaner to erase your board.

Cute, right?

DIY Chalk Board

This project is just a little bit more involved than the last one, but it’s still crazy easy.

First, remove the glass from your frame and lay it out on some newspaper. Then paint one side of the glass with chalkboard paint. Chalkboard paint is pretty widely available these days. I found mine in the craft paint aisle at Michael’s.

The brand of paint I bought recommends two coats, so I let the first coat dry for an hour, then applied the second coat.

I wanted to add some interest to the border of my “chalkboard”, so I used a stencil and some gold paint to put some designs on the edges. This requires more drying time, but I really like how it turned out.

Once the paint is completely dry and cured (just make sure to follow the instructions on your paint), put it back in the frame. And there you have it! Your own DIY chalk board. I found this chalk marker at Michael’s as well, and I am really pleased with it. I find it much easier and cleaner to use than actual chalk!

I hope you like this idea as much as I do! It’s so simple and you can easily customize it to suit your own decor. Not to mention all the trees we are going to save now! :-)