DIY Thanksgiving Chalkboard Art (Tutorial)

Published Oct 29, 2015 · Updated Nov 6, 2019 by Ginnie · 1 Comment

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

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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!

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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

Then, I used a drill with a ⅜ 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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

Do you decorate for Thanksgiving?