Interactive murals are those that have chalk (or markers or paint) nearby so that everyone and anyone can participate. My favorite are the big fill in the blank kinds. But that isn’t practical to create indoors, so I created mini ones. It will have the look of chalk, but there is zero chalk involved (so no chalk dust) or special paint!
How do I use these? When family and friends are over, they write on the lines- it’s a great conversation starter and I’ve learned so many unexpected things about them this way! At the end of this post you can see a few filled out by recent guests.
Start with a piece of wood painted matte black. It doesn’t need to be chalkboard paint, just something matte (not shiny or glossy) black. I ran across these already painted and with twine to hang it in the dollar spot at Target so I started with these. These are seasonal, so depending on when you are reading this, you might not be able to find them there so you substitute with any wood panel or piece of wood you have. Just paint it matte black.
Stencil the words you want on there. I did three of these using my Journal Starters stencil from StencilGirl. You can choose something different for each line or repeat the same one over and over. So many options for you with the one single stencil!
Why use a heavy body white paint to stencil this? Because it is very opaque so it makes it easy to see the white stenciling and it also helps keep the lines crisp. Thicker paints are less likely to run under the stencil so if you’re an impatient stenciler like me you can still get crisp lines. In the video, you’ll see how I lined these up without careful measuring too.
To create the lines for people to write on you have choices. You can paint them on with a paint brush or draw them on with a white paint marker. I chose to stencil them so they would have the same look as the stenciled words. It was an adventure of a process that words won’t do justice. Let’s just say, I made it so much harder than it had to be! Check it out in the video.
Even though the lines were giving me fits, I was still having fun. How? Because it has to do with the spirit of play! Want more of that when you’re creating? Then check out my free weeklong workshop, Permission to Play!
Once you’ve got your words and lines on there, you need to let it dry. For days. The paint needs to be fully dry before you start using it. If you use it too soon, the paint may wipe off. I gave this paint about 4 days to dry before we used them.
Even though it looks like chalk there, it was actually a water soluble pencil. That means zero chalk dust. To erase the writing, you just need water and a paper towel. It comes right up! So you can use it over and over.
Here are the supplies used. Some of these links may be affiliate links which means I get a small percentage and it doesn’t cost you anything extra! It doesn’t cost you anything extra and you get a really good feeling knowing that you are helping keep the free tutorials coming!
The black wood base was from Target in their dollar bin area- and you can substitute with any piece of wood painted matte black.
