This post is written in collaboration with Homeright.

chalkboard calendar

Good morning rock star.

Happy almost Thanksgiving.

I know this is the time of year to be defrosting turkeys and baking pies with homemade crusts and soaking beans and adding marshmallows to sweet potatoes.

And that’s kind of what we are doing here.

Kind of.

But we stopped along the Thanksgiving road to pause and take some old, tired, worn out windows and make this.

A giant chalkboard calendar.

Christmas trees

You see, we are having guests this Thanksgiving and they are staying at the gatehouse and I was fluffing and moving furniture and painting and when I finished there was this giant blank wall that used to have plates on it in the dining room and it needed something.

Something amazing.

Press pause on the turkey fixing.

DIY Chalkboard Calendar

I tried a wreath.

Umm….no good.

I tried three wreaths with a burlap ribbon.

Umm…negative.

encyclopedia

I tried a mirror and a barn door and a plate rack and a bookshelf.

It all looked okay.

Fine.

Sufficient.

But not amazing.

windows before

And then I remembered these.

This set of windows I found at a thrift store that I used for the booth at the fabric/quilt show where we debuted the fabric.

We used them to make windows in the farmhouse set-up in the booth.

I got them for way less than a turkey dinner.

windows before with panes

What if we made a giant oversized chalkboard calendar for the wall?  Kind of a mini-version of the one we already have in the family room at the farmhouse.

We could build something like that.

We had a little extra time.

And in between Hallmark movies I could supervise.

windows before without panes

So we popped out the glass.

It was really easy.

All we did was bend back the glazing points and the glass came right out.

windows without panes

Here’s an example of a glazing point after we popped out the glass.

Then we used pliers to pull out the glazing points.

And we went on a date to Lowe’s and drank cappuncino and I supervised getting two pieces of plywood that fit behind the window to make the chalkboard.

And then we came home and sprayed the windowless windows with this amazing paint sprayer from Homeright.

paint sprayer

It was so easy to use.

Seriously.

All you do is fill up the container with paint and insert the tube in the top of the container that draws out the paint.

paint sprayer parts

Here’s the container before we filled it up with paint.

Attach the container to the base and press the trigger and spray the paint.

When you release the trigger, the paint stops.

It was that easy.

chalkboard calendar project how to

After the paint dried, we attached the chalkboard to the back of the windows.

These are actually two windows side-by-side that create one giant chalkboard calendar.

And now that blank, empty, forlorn wall looks like this.

DIY Chalkboard Calendar Project

The gatehouse is cozy and cute and ready for guests now.

And today is all about the turkey and Thanksgiving and baking and cooking.

Good thing for amazing friends who can cook.

If you’re looking for me….

…..I’ll be supervising. 🙂

A giant shout out to Homeright who I adore for sponsoring this post.  They make all things possible like chalkboard calendars.  All opinions are my own.  Please see my disclosure page for more information.

Want to know how to decorate your home for free?
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Comments

  1. Image for Yvonne Shafer Yvonne Shafer

    Brilliant! I love how you repurpose items in ways that are fresh and updated! Happy Thanksgiving, Karianne!

  2. Image for Shirley Shirley

    Wow what a lovely guest room! Love all the pops of red & the chalkboard looks amazing. Best wishes from across the Pond for a Happy Thanksgiving.

  3. Image for Jeanne Jeanne

    What a fun break from the cooking madness...I had to laugh (at myself...the best person to laugh at, right?!)...here I am up to my elbows in pudding and cranberries and I had this crazy need to write an Ode to Cranberries...actually the verse was swirling around in my head since 2AM this morning...had to write it down. Crazy, yes, but fun...Enjoy... https://doodlet.me/2015/11/ode-to-the-berry-cran/

  4. Image for Bluwatergal Bluwatergal

    Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours KariAnne! You definitely win "Best Supervisor" in the "Cutest Window Recycle" project category. :) I can just see all the sweet messages your guests will leave for you & each other. Now, back to supervising that turkey! Bluwatergal ~~~

  5. Image for Leona Leona

    Dear Ms. Supervisor: Have an Amazing Thanksgiving with the lucky quests who get to stay in the gatehouse with that sweet chalkboard window.

  6. Image for Pam Pam

    Loving the red, white and black(board) you got going on this year! I'm getting ready to paint a table for my holiday front porch. Of course it's too cold outside, so I'm all set up in the dining room. Hope the paint smell goes away by dinnertime tomorrow :)

  7. Image for Mimi - 247 Mulberry Lane Mimi - 247 Mulberry Lane

    Happy Thanksgiving Eve, KariAnne! I love the chalkboard calendar--Wow! Wouldn't that make the best family advent calendar EVER! I am thankful for you, your wonderful blog, and all the terrific ideas and laughs you provide throughout the year. God Bless!

  8. Image for stephanie bauling stephanie bauling

    You are the best! I'm so glad I found your blog!!! Besides being amazingly creative... you are so darn funny ! Always in need of a good chuckle! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

  9. Image for Susan Susan

    It's absolutely beautiful and I LOVE how you styled it for the holidays! Oh, to be a guest in your guesthouse! Wishing you and yours a most beautiful and blissful Thanksgiving...may your blessings be infinite and your joy immeasureable!

  10. Image for Rosalie McCreary Rosalie McCreary

    Goodness Rock Star!!I was beginning to wonder how you could do ALL that and cook dinner too, till your comment about friends that cook! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

  11. Image for Wendy Wendy

    This looks fantastic! I have 3 old windows a friend gave me and I've been trying to figure out what to do with them. So many options! You have my wheels turning. :)

  12. Image for TimofeyCal TimofeyCal

    Все утро пересматривал содержимое сети интернет, вдруг к своему восторгу увидел хороший веб-сайт. А вот и он: сайт компьютерных игр . Для нас вышеуказанный ресурс показался очень важным. Хорошего дня!

  13. Image for Claudine Claudine

    I love it!!! First of all, I have wanted a paint sprayer forever, but bought a way too do located one and never used it. This ones seems easy! Also I thought the chalk board would have to be all cut to fit the pieces, but you made it all one board, right?? brilliant! Thank you!!

Comments are closed.