does anybody else look at those immaculate chalkboards on pinterest and wonder, "how do they do?" 

well, i did a little research and i got to the bottom of the scam. i was onto their game and i was bound and determined that, yes, i too could have some beautiful chalkboard art in my home. (ps. i saw the tutorial here.)

then i could post it on pinterest and people would be jealous. 

because when you're a 30 year old with braces, you really need someone to be jealous of something. you just do. 

step 1 | find desired printable on pinterest (i found this one). blow it up to the appropriate size of your chalkboard and print it out. lay it accordingly to make sure you have your spacing perfected. got it? now go get your chalk.
step 2 | take your chalk piece and the first square of the graphic and flip it to the back side. begin to color in the words with the chalk. once you have it completely filled with chalk, flip it over onto your chalkboard and tape it down. you're then going to want to fill in all the letters with a pen.

tada! everything that was filled in with chalk will transfer onto the board, and once you lift the paper you'll have a faint outline of your desired graphic. nice! right? wrong.
i thought i was going to have this fabulous tutorial for you guys. my message would be, "if i can do it, you can do it. i promise."

it certainly didn't work out for me. i'll blame it on my DIY chalkboard that i made for my wedding four years ago.

(i'd love to know if anyone has successfully done this.)

so here's what you're going to want to do...

step 3 | abandon your original plan. it's not going to work out for you. just save time and don't bother with the "chalkboard tutorial" that they promise is so easy. lies.

do it freehand! i tell you…i feel a lot less like a cheated and maybe i even feel a little more special knowing i did it all on my own…while closely following every curve and shading technique of the free printable. maybe i even have a little swagger in my step when i walk by my finished product.

and maybe every 30 year old with braces needs something to put a swagger in her step.
 final product | in spring time Love (not Sove) is carried on the breeze.
sure it's not perfectly centered. the spacing is a bit off. the "o" in on is completely messed up…but i love it.