I would hate to know the amount of space that memorized song lyrics takes up in my brain. That space could probably be put to better use, but then I wouldn’t be able to get my groove on in the car, on the way to work, or in the shower most days. Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you I love to sing along to the radio in the car, tailgating, or pretty much anytime anywhere. I’m a terrible singer, but with enough liquid courage I don’t care most of the time.

I LOVE music. Mostly country, but my favorite playlist has everything from Justin Timberlake’s new song, to new country music from Maren Morris, Dierks, Brett E, to old school country from Alabama, Clint Black, Mary Chapin Carpenter, to my teen favorites the Backstreet Boys. I can find a song to relate to every moment in my life, especially when it comes to country music. There’s a country song for every feeling, every stage, every experience I’ve been through. I sit here thinking about them all; there are songs that have gotten me through rough times like Miranda Lambert’s The House that Built Me. There are songs that bring back memories like Drive (for Daddy Gene) by Alan Jackson, that remind me of the times when my Dad let me drive the old El Camino we had as a kid. There are songs that make me smile like Maren Morris’s 80s Mercedes. I could go on and on.

I decided to turn some song lyrics into some kitchen/dining room art. One of my favorite line’s from Eric Church’s song “Three Year Old” is “Nothing turns a day around like licking a mixing bowl.” I definitely believe those words. The pure ecstasy of licking the spatula after some cake batter is in the oven is heaven.

I wanted to make a chalkboard sign and frame similar to this one I found on Pinterest:

I like the rustic and imperfect feel of the design. I used some 1X3’s for the frame and some scrap plywood for the chalkboard part. The 1X3’s were notched out on the table saw so that the plywood would fit in the back and be flush with the frame. Everything was sanded with 400 grit sand paper to get a smooth finish before painting and staining began.

I bought some chalkboard spray paint at Michael’s. It took about 3 coats to get an even finish.

I tried out different fonts in photoshop to figure out what would look best. I wanted a brush type hand written font type face. The one I settled on is called ‘Beacon.’ I printed out the lyrics and taped them together.

I covered the back with white chalk so that I could transfer an outline of the letters to the wood. After coloring the back with white chalk, I put the paper back on the board and then traced the letters on the paper with a pencil. This left an outline on the wood:

I filled in the letters with some white paint markers. I think next time I will try using white paint and brush instead to see if I can get better consistency. For the frame I tried something new. I painted the wood with some left over teal paint from my guest room (the color is called Beach Cottage), but immediately wiped the paint off so that it was more of a staining effect where you could see the wood grain through the paint. Then I added a layer of steel wool and vinegar stain on top of the paint to darken it up. It turned out good; it has a reclaimed wood look to it.

All that was left after that was to screw all the pieces together an hang it on the wall!