For You

Make Your Own Chalkboard Speech Bubble

Let your little one tell you WHO THEY ARE this back-to-school time of year.

These fun chalkboard speech bubbles are a great way to keep track of all the years of back-to-school photos you’ll be taking. They are also a fun prop to have on hand for any make-shift photo booth.

I had no idea how easy they were to make until a few weeks ago at the BlogHer Gulf Coast Auction. They had a photo booth set up with a bunch of these chalkboard speech bubbles. Here’s some fun shots of Marie and I with them.

What you need to make your own Chalkboard Speech-Bubble:

  • white foam core board
  • one X-acto knife
  • a cutting board
  • black Chalkboard Spray Paint
  • white chalk

1. Using the X-acto knife, cut the foam core board to the shape of speech bubble you want. You can trace out a shape or do it free hand.

2. Spray both sides of the speech bubble with the black chalkboard spray paint. I like to do this outside on a big piece of cardboard underneath. This kind of paint dries really quick.

3. Once dry on both sides, chalk up the side you want to use with a piece of white chalk, and then wipe it off. This gives it that wore-in chalkboard look.

4. Now you are ready for your back-to-school photos! Go…have some fun with them!

Kami Bigler is a regular contributor at Make and Takes. She’s the thrifty maven who runs the blog: no biggie – a montage of her three favorite creative outlets: crafting, cooking, and thrifting. Her interests include portrait and tabletop photography, paper crafts, decorating and experiencing the thrill of the thrift find. You can follow Kami on Twitter at @kamibigler.

34 comments

  1. i’m thinking of making two of these for my upcoming wedding for the photo booth effect. any thoughts on how durable the surface of the foam core is? would it hold up for 100 people writing and erasing their messages?

  2. awesomely cute idea!
    I’ve tried Krylon brand chalk board spray paint before and wasn’t thrilled with the results… It left a chalk board surface that seemed like the chalk didn’t work well and would squeak and stuff… I’m wondering if I didn’t do enough layers, if it’s the paint, the chalk, or the surface I painted….
    maybe I’ll try a can of the rusteoleum brand and see how that works for me! :)

  3. that’s one of those head-smackers! foam-core board, of course! sooo much easier than the wood i thought they were made from!

  4. I love it! I am a teacher and I am going to do this for my students on their first day of school- what a great idea!

  5. I love the school picture! And these chalkboards are waaaay too easy, I’m all for easy! Thanks for sharing, Kami!

  6. ooh.. i love these chalkboard bubbles and wondered which fancy shop to buy them from!! so glad you shared the how-to tutorial. super super darling. and a great way to start off a new school year. thank you, marie and kami.

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