DIY Chalkboard Pennant Banner

Submitted by RyTurner / The Design Confidential
Project Image

I know how you all love anything chalkboard, banner printing, and garland related so why not combine all 3? Yes please! Since wood projects are my specialty, I think this project is such a fabulous way to soften things up a bit and make something cute and decorative instead of furniture!

To begin I created a rectangular strip on my piece of 1/4” birch plywood, using a 1×6 board as a guide and then divided it into small triangles approximately 6” at their widest point. The fabulous part of DIY is that you can customize this in any way you prefer so choose a size that works for you, but keep in mind this will be hanging ultimately so don’t go overboard unless you are trying to fill an entire wall.

Be sure to create your shape outlines on the side that will be the backside as this is the side we will want facing up while we cut..you will see why below. On most species of plywood one side will be smoother and less grainy than the other, that smooth side will be the facing side (not the back side).

Once you have your shapes traced on the more textured side, use a jig saw to cut out your pennants. They will look rough and jagged like the image below.

Don’t be scared by how rough they look here, it won’t matter once you sand them down and don’t forget this is the backside.

Flip those friends over and look how dandy they are on the front side…see why we cut with the front facing down? Nifty little trick, eh?

Now be sure to sand well on both the front and back sides to smooth out your chalkboard surface and to keep the back from injuring you while you continue on with this project…no splinters please.

Get your foam brush or roller out and paint your banner pennants with DecoArt Americana Chalkboard Paint. The directions suggest to paint 2 coats, one horizontally and the other vertically, while waiting an hour or so in between for the first coat to dry. I have found that 2 coats is all you need even when you are working with wood that has a tendency to drink up your paint like a desert wanderer might, so I would say those directions are right on!

Now comes the really hard part of this project. Kidding.. actually this next step along with the painting is pretty simple and you are just about finished!

I used Jute Rope with 1/4” thickness and Gorilla Glue Tape. I knew it would do the job in holding the rope to the back of the pennants, and be really easy to attach (with no glue gun burn souvenirs.)

just cut the tape into strips that were long enough to wrap both sides of the rope and I used 3 per pennant so that it might look like a real pennant made from fabric and sewn around the rope. Be sure to leave adequate room at the ends for hanging.

I continued on to the second pennant leaving about 3”-4” between them.

Below you can see how they will look from the front, once they are all attached and hung.

Now with every good chalkboard paint, you will be told to prime the pump so to speak, as is the case with this DecoArt Americana Chalkboard Paint variety. You will want to cover your surface with chalk to condition the chalkboard paint and prepare it for chalking! This is the most exciting part of the whole project I am just sure of it!

Wipe clean to prepare for any design, lettering, phrase or other exciting thing you plan to draw on your new banner garland! To hang it, simply use a small nail through the middle of the rope braid. You may need to secure the shape of your banner in the center if your rope is particularly new and stiff. I did exactly this, because one of my sections was doing something odd so I helped it make the shape and hang I was looking for, and you can’t tell at all!

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