I had found a pile of old slate tiles that had been ripped out of building during demolition a few years ago. The foreman said I could have them since they were just going to toss them. (When in doubt about something just ask! People are usually pretty willing to get rid of stuff.) I took about 8 that were in good shape and carried them around through 2 moves. Unfortunately most of them broke during those moves but I still have 3 left.
I decided I needed to use them ASAP before those ended up broken as well and I made a slate chalk board!
Yep, thats right- no chalk board paint here. It's the real deal. I thought it would be fun to use in the kitchen as a menu board.
If you want to make one of these yourself it's real easy. Here's what you need:
2 Slate Tiles (if you can't find them on the side of the road like I did check your local home improvement store.)
1 piece of scrap plywood or MDF cut down to about 8" x 20" about 3/4" thick (this could vary depending on the size of your tiles, you don't want the wood to close to the edge of the tile. Otherwise it will show)
Liquid Nails
Heavy Duty Picture Hangers
Scrap piece of Molding to be used as a chalk holder
Saw for cutting wood down if need be
First lay out your tiles and determine what size wood you need. Depending on what size your tiles are the size of the wood could vary from the size I used.
Next slather Liquid Nails on the wood, then place the wood centered on the two tiles.
Now, patience. I weighted my wood down under some books and let it set over night.
Once it was all dry I screwed the heavy duty hooks into the wood. This is the reason I used 3/4" plywood- so my screws wouldn't be to long to screw into the wood.
Then I cut down my scrap piece of molding down to about 8" long. Mine was a natural wood look and I thought it looked nice with the slate color. I used Liquid Nails once again and let it set over night.
Then all done! Hang and admire.
Yay! I think it turned out super cute and it was FREE!!
