Shabby Chic Chore Chart Tutorial

Because you are here, tells me that you are in search of a new way of getting chores done around your house.  When this quote rings true to you, it is definitely time to come up with a new system.Hahaha! I just have to laugh because I don’t know how many times I have felt this way.

**If you need new ideas but feel that this particular chore chart is not for you right now, feel free to scroll down and click “see more” for the next page that has 6 more ideas.**

I find that every few years I have to change the way we do chores at our house.  It’s as if my kids get bored and they lose interest in the old way, so coming up with a new system helps get them excited again.  Things change as the kids grow as well.  The cute tags hanging on a hook that you flip over when you are done brushing your teeth, getting dressed and combing your hair doesn’t quite cut it for my 17 yr old any more.

Like I said in my command center post, my hubby asked me to have a chore chart be a part of our new command center. That post would be a great one to look at if you are making your chore chart a part of a command center.

Because the wall I put my command center on can be seen by anyone who enters my front door, I wanted something that looked nice and blended with my decor, as a result this framed chore chart was born.  I wanted to have a chalk board but my husband HATES chalk.  The feeling, the smell…all of it.  He wanted dry erase but it just wasn’t the look I was going for.  SO we compromised,  I got my chalkboard look without the chalky mess, by using chalk markers.

Items needed:

1. Frame – Whatever size suits your space (I found mine at a local thrift store)
2. Chalk paint – to paint the frame (the one I used you can find on amazon FOLKART Home Decor Chalk, 16 oz, White Adirondack)
3. Chalkboard Spray Paint– I used Valspar from Lowes you can also find one on amazon Rust-Oleum 1913830 Chalkboard Spray, Black, 11-Ounce
4. Masking tape/ 3M Painter’s Tape, Multi-Use, .94-Inch by 60-Yard
5. Chalk Markers–POPART Multi-Color Liquid Chalk Fluorescent Marker Pens 8-pack, 921
6. Knobs of your choice – find some similar to mine here 10pcs 30mm Glass Clear Cabinet Knob Drawer Pull Handle Kitchen Door Wardrobe Hardware Used for Cabinet, Drawer, Chest, Bin, Dresser, Cupboard, Etc –for a lot less than I paid at Lowes.
7. E6000 Adhesive–E6000® Med Visc 3.7-Ounce Auto/Industrial Carded Adhesive
8. Tags for Names
9. Tools needed- Paint BrushWooster Brush Q3208-1 Softip Angle Sash Paintbrush, 1-Inch
   Ruler Mine found hereFiskars 6×24 Inch Acrylic Ruler (12-87577097J)                 *The Kusi Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com*

First, measure the space you have to determine how big of a frame to look for.  Find an old frame not being used that’s laying around the house somewhere OR shop your local thrift store to find one you like.  Be sure to take a measuring tape so you can find one the size you want!!  When I am looking for a frame, I REALLY love to find ones that have great texture or beautiful designs.

Check out the one I found! I can just imagine this hanging in a doctor’s office haha.  Normally I would empty the frame out and maybe replace the inside with a piece of wood or sheet metal but the back is finished off so nicely I didn’t want to disturb it.  I LOVE the way it turned out though and would actually recommend doing it this way (painting the GLASS with the chalkboard paint).

Because I am not pulling my whole frame apart, I taped off the glass so that I could paint the frame. If you can easily pull out the picture and glass, you can skip the taping part and just pull you glass out and paint your frame with chalk paint (if you would like to spray paint here you can).

I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of painting the frame or even the frame after it was painted. Oh well, moving on…

After painting the frame if you are doing it the same way as me, you will need to tape off the frame you just painted. Make sure to let your frame dry completely so it is not pulled up by the tape.  I added paper to protect the rest of the frame from the spray paint.

If you were able to pull the glass out of the frame LUCKY YOU.  While your frame is drying you can go ahead and spray paint your glass with the chalk board spray paint.  Here is mine taped off and painted. I let mine dry over night.

Now on to the fun part.  The best thing to do here is to prime your chalkboard.  Take a piece of chalk and rub with the side of the chalk completely covering the chalkboard.  Then erase it with a dry cloth.  Now it is primed and your chalk markers will come off better.  (I skipped this step which made it harder to erase mistakes which can be done with a damp clothe)

After priming divide your board how you choose (I used a ruler to divide the board into 6 sections) and write your lists with your chalk marker.

After making my lists I needed a way to rotate our names.  I found some cute tags in my plethora of scrapbook supplies.  At first I thought I would find a way to magnetize the board and have them stick that way but I wanted to “pretty it up” a bit and decided to put the knobs on to hang the tags instead.  To put the names on the tags type them up in a word doc in the size and font of your choice and print them out.  cut them down to fit on your tags and simply glue them on with a gluestick.

Use a ruler to mark where you want to place your knobs.  I love how you can see through this ruler, it makes it easy to line things up.

Now with your E6000 adhesive.

I hope you are in love with your new chore chart and I hope it does you well for at least a couple of years.

If you have read through this post and think this is not quite what you need right now click here and I will share 5 more chore charts/ideas we have used over the years. 

See The Happy!!