Anyone wrapping gifts already this weekend? Well, maybe tomorrow if you get out to the Black Friday sales today. (Not me, BTW.)
While the weather is turning colder, I’m having flashbacks to warmer times at Haven Conference. Not sure why I go a little crazy for this conference. The whole event seems like it’s filled with little sparkling jewels of southern hospitality, and I wanted to share a little, too, with something handmade for my new friends. The Chalkboard Tags I gave away were a unique way to network, and so much more.
Last year I made these cute mini file folders.
This year I was inspired by some blackboard labels I saw at a craft store. It turns out, I already had everything I needed for a DIY tag project. In the process, I found a nearly free way for you to make chalkboard labels for your home, too. These would be great for organizing or for hanging on gifts or bottles of wine.
Materials:
- paint stir sticks
- primer
- blackboard paint
- butcher’s twine
- business cards
Paint stir sticks are the perfect thickness and weight for the tags. Oh, and they are free. Not sure why, but I already had 10 brand new ones sitting in my stash.
How to Make Chalkboard Business Card Tags
Technically, the business cards aren’t chalkboards. More accurately, I made chalkboard tags and attached them to my business cards. If you wanted to get really fancy, you could adhere one to the other, but since I have stuff on the back of my card, and I wanted folks to be able to take these tags, unhook them, and use them at home, they are just tied together with my cards.
Step 1: Chalkboard Business Card Tag Prep
Spray prime the side of the sticks with the printing on them. I really like Rust-Oleum’s 2X spray primer.
Step 2: Cover the Primed Side with Chalkboard Paint.
I used Rust-Oleum Blackboard paint that I already had on hand from my own garage project. Use two coats.
Step 3. Saw Chalkboard Business Card Tags to Size
I used my power miter saw to chop each stick into 4 tags. My sticks measured out perfectly at 3.5″ per tag. But I decided that I didn’t want to include the little curves on the last tag, so I cut those off, and ended up with one tag from each stick that’s only about 2.6″ long. You don’t really need power tools for this step, but since I was headed to see my friends from Ryobi, I thought I’d mention them again here.
Step 4:Drill Holes in Chalkboard Tags
Stack 3 or 4 tags together and drill two holes in each, about one each in from each side. Sorry, you do need power tools here. It would be hard to do this without a drill.
Step 5: Touch up Chalkboard Tags
Lightly sand each tag around the edges and give it one final (third) coat of blackboard paint.
Step 6: Season Chalkboard Tags
This is something I didn’t know until recently. New blackboard should be prepped by “seasoning” the surface. Cover the surface lightly with chalk and then wipe it off with a dry cloth. It provides a better surface for chalk and reduces the chance that your chalk will “stain” the chalkboard surface.
Step 7: Attach Chalkboard Tags to Business Cards
Punch a hole in business cards, making sure to not punch out any important content on the front or back. Use baker’s twine to attach each tag to a card.
Step 8: Sign the Chalkboard Business Card Tags
Just before giving these out, I wrote a simple message on them.
Using the paint sticks is both free and possibly green. You could even use old paint sticks and paint them with chalkboard paint!
Hopefully, all of my friends, new and old, will take these tags and use them to organize at home. And now you have a new way to label things and gifts at your home, too.
