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DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art

October 29, 2015 by Ginnie 1 Comment

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Decorate your home for the holidays with this fun and easy DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art!

DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art hanging on a brick wall.

This post contains affiliate links.

Thanksgiving is coming up fast, and I’m starting to do a little decorating.

I love anything chalkboard related, and I had a piece of chalkboard leftover from my rustic glam holiday dining room.

My apartment is lacking in anything Thanksgiving related, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to create some fun DIY Thanksgiving chalkboard art!

DIY Thankgiving Chalkboard Art ... greet your guests with a beautiful, custom chalkboard featuring a lovely Give Thanks quote! Don't miss this easy tutorial! | Hello Little Home

DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art

The hardest thing about creating this homemade Thanksgiving decoration was deciding on a quote. I was originally just going to use the phrase “Be Thankful,” but I decided to see if I could find a better quote.

The quote I found couldn’t be more perfect: “Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.”

It’s attributed to the Hausa of Nigeria, which is one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.

DIY Thankgiving Chalkboard Art ... greet your guests with a beautiful, custom chalkboard featuring a lovely Give Thanks quote! Don't miss this easy tutorial! | Hello Little Home

I’d been wanting to try my hand at chalkboard art for a while, so I was excited when Workman Publishing sent me a copy of The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering.

It’s a really cool book, and I highly recommend it if you want to improve your chalkboard writing skills. The author Valerie McKeehan really makes the techniques accessible and fun.

I learned a lot and decided to put my newly found skills to work with this DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art!

DIY Thankgiving Chalkboard Art ... greet your guests with a beautiful, custom chalkboard featuring a lovely Give Thanks quote! Don't miss this easy tutorial! | Hello Little Home

DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art Tutorial

Want to make your own custom lettered Thanksgiving sign? Here’s what you’ll need:

  • chalkboard
  • utility knife
  • ruler
  • drill with 3/8-inch bit
  • regular chalk
  • white chalk marker
  • gold chalk marker
  • gold ribbon

I started by sketching a design to determine how I wanted to lay out the quote.

This was my third version, and if you compare it to the final design you’ll see I made even more changes.

Step-by-step tutorial for making gorgeous DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art! | Hello Little Home

The next thing I did was prepare the chalkboard. I had a piece of chalkboard leftover from the Happy Holidays art I created for my rustic glam holiday dining room, so I decided to use it for this.

The chalkboard came in a huge sheet from Home Depot, and it was super affordable … perfect for making cheap Thanksgiving decorations!

If you’re looking for a photo backdrop or inexpensive chalkboard (less than $10), I highly recommend it. It’s made from layers of paper, and I trimmed it down to 19.5 x 24-inches using a ruler and utility knife.

Step-by-step tutorial for making gorgeous DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art! | Hello Little Home

Next, I marked a spot 1.5-inches from both edges on the top corners of the board.

Step-by-step tutorial for making gorgeous DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art! | Hello Little Home

Then, I used a drill with a 3/8 bit to drill holes in the corners.

I’d never used a bit that large before, and it took a while to get through the board.

Step-by-step tutorial for making gorgeous DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art! | Hello Little Home

The next step is treating the chalkboard surface.

Rub a piece of chalk all over the board, then go over it with a paper towel, working in a circular motion.

Blow any excess chalk off the board.

Step-by-step tutorial for making gorgeous DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art! | Hello Little Home

After treating the chalkboard, I used a piece of chalk to roughly lay out the design on the board.

It doesn’t have to be perfect at this point.

Just draw in all the important areas and make sure the words and design elements are laid out where you want it.

Step-by-step tutorial for making gorgeous DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art! | Hello Little Home

After laying out the design, I went over it with my chalk markers.

Again, it doesn’t need to be perfect at this point. You just want to get everything in place.

Once you’ve gone over everything with the chalk markers, use a paper towel to wipe off any of the traditional chalk that’s still showing.

Make sure to let the chalk markers dry before doing this, or you will have a big mess!

Step-by-step tutorial for making gorgeous DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art! | Hello Little Home

Finally, go back in and add all the details to your design.

I went over the letters to thicken the lines, added extra details to the words “THANKS” and “A LOT”, added flourishes, and added additional decorative details.

Take your time, and if you don’t like anything, simply go over it with a damp cloth to erase it.

Step-by-step tutorial for making gorgeous DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art! | Hello Little Home

The final step is attaching the ribbon to the chalkboard.

Insert the ribbon from the back of the board, then tie a triple knot. Pull the knot tight, then trim the end off the ribbon.

Repeat on the other side of the blackboard.

Step-by-step tutorial for making gorgeous DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art! | Hello Little Home

DIY Thankgiving Chalkboard Art ... greet your guests with a beautiful, custom chalkboard featuring a lovely Give Thanks quote! Don't miss this easy tutorial! | Hello Little Home

I absolutely love how this DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art turned out!

My favorite part about this DIY Thanksgiving chalkboard art is that since it’s not Thanksgiving specific, I can use it year round!

I’ve had it hanging up in different places around my apartment since Thanksgiving ended.

DIY Thankgiving Chalkboard Art ... greet your guests with a beautiful, custom chalkboard featuring a lovely Give Thanks quote! Don't miss this easy tutorial! | Hello Little Home

Let me know if you try this DIY Thanksgiving decor idea for yourself. I’d love to see how it turns out!

DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art hanging on a brick wall.

Do you decorate for Thanksgiving?

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Filed Under: DIY, Holiday Tagged With: art, chalk, chalkboard, decor, holiday decorations, Thanksgiving, tutorial

About Ginnie

Ginnie is the writer, photographer, and chief content creator behind Hello Little Home. She loves trying new things (whether that’s creating delicious vegetarian recipes, exploring a new city, trying a fun DIY project, or sharing a pretty makeup look), and she hopes to inspire you to do the same! Read more about Ginnie here.

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My Bashful Life Mickey
5 years ago

I love these chalkboards! What a great decorating idea for Thanksgiving! Chalkboards look great everywhere!
xoxo Mickey http://www.mybashfullife.com/

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Hi, I'm Ginnie! Welcome to Hello Little Home, which is all about inspiring everyday creativity! I'm excited to share my favorite things with you ... vegetarian recipes, travel inspiration, DIY projects, decor ideas, beauty and fashion tips, and more! Read more about me here!

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