Several years ago when I was living in a house not far from here, I made several large blackboards that I could use for art and inspiration around the house. One went in my bedroom where I could rotate inspiring quotes.
The chalkboards were easy to make out on the grass in the backyard with a tarp under them. I purchased, for about $12, three large 1/4" x 2" x 4" slabs of fiberboard from the hardware store and then spray painted each with black chalkboard paint. It took about three coats to get it thick enough but it was a very easy project.
When I moved into this apartment I hung one on a narrow wall in the kitchen between the fridge and pantry and wrote a favorite quote there that stayed for years about gratitude. Recently I changed it to an Abraham Lincoln quote about happiness.
The chalkboard has taken a beating and with little hands and sometimes messy Man, it now has some grease stains and other imperfections on it -- but I like things a little rumpled up, so until I make a new one or move somewhere new, it will stay as is. I have chalkboard paint in my painting supplies so it wouldn't take much to polish it up a bit.
While reading this Living With Kids post over at Design Mom, I was inspired to change our blackboard to Fruit Of The Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23. If you have time to read the post, Leah says something really inspiring about meeting one's needs as a mom. I loved it and it's stayed with me.
I think I ended up with a more modern bibical version on my blackboard, which I had found in multiple places online. When I checked it against the King James version there were some differences. But this works for now. It's a good reminder for all of us to think more deeply about the spirit we contribute to our home and our influence on the mood and happiness of every person living here.
If you don't have a chalkboard but would like a version of this to hang on your own walls there are some beautifully designed versions for sale on Etsy. Here are a few of my favorites. From Made By Katy Designs, a lovely green pear on a black background. Miss Mo Design created this lovely black, gray and yellow tree branch design. Wall To Wall stencils sells this pretty green pear as the frame for the verse. I also like the black and white simplicity of this text version.
As I was working on this, The Bug requested that we change the blackboard every month. I think that is a great goal and I am looking forward to switching up our inspiration and the visual focus of our kitchen every month now.
Do you have a place where you leave little inspirations for your family? Where is it and how do you work it?
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