I have 2 chalkboards in my room. I want to cover one with preferably fabric and use it as my calendar wall. Is there anything sticky enough to hold fabric to a chalkboard? Also, I have to take into account the fact that I then have to use something to stick all of the calendar materials to the fabric with the hard chalkboard surface behind it....hmmm...
Our building is going into its 6th year. The first year it opened, a teacher put some sticky type stuff to the chalkboard. She moved out of that room and left an eyesore in the room. The sticky stuff didn't come off all the way and now nobody can use that board as a whiteboard anymore. But I'm sure you'll be careful in selecting what kind of sticky stuff you use to adhere the fabric.
Yes, I certainly would not want to damage the chalkboard in any way. I was thinking maybe hot glue...as it comes off of cinder block well, so I assume it would a chalkboard.
I used some of that blue putty stuff and masking tape to attach the fabric--they came off the white board just fine (but we just had showerboards, not actual whiteboards). Are your boards magnetic? (probably not, as that would be too easy, right? ) I used a combination of masking tape and some of the 3m adhesive strips to attach things to the fabric. Good luck!
I had the same question. This year I am planning on using my board for a BB since I just use the smartboard. But I bought some magnetic tape that I am going to use on the boarders to divide up the board. I will then just keep the board as the backing and just put everything up with magnets. I can imagine it being a pain to have to pin things to the fabric. Maybe buy some corkboard to attach to the board? Somehow? Haha... I wouldn't know how to advise going about that though.
Be careful using hot glue. I know from experience that little spots of my chalkboard flaked off at the end of the year when I removed the items. Masking tape left a film on my board as did packing tape. I am thinking of putting cork on part of my board. I know Staples has it for sell, in a roll or squares. I am thinking of trying spray adhesive. My board is old and has my Smart Board covering half of it.
Liquid starch. Tape the fabric up, brush liquid starch on to the fabric with a paintbrush. Let it dry, remove tape. I've seen this work on BBs. End of year, peel off the fabric and wash it. Wash the blackboard- it will come clean. You'd have to tape or funtack your calendar stuff to the fabric though.
My boards are true "chalk"boards...and are not magnetic. I don't need both of them, so I wanted to make one as useful as possible! Thanks for the tips!
I tried everything. It might have been the quality of the board. there is still a slight film in small areas.
I haven't read all of the responses so i apologize if any are repeats. This is a white board in my room, but it posed the same problem. What I did was attach the background over the board by stapling it to the wall about an inch above and below it. A staple leaves very little (if any) damage to the wall. I then hot glued everything onto the background paper. You could use lots of pocket charts for your calendar area. Another idea would be to cover it in felt and then treat it as a large felt board and apply velcro or felt to the back of your calendar pieces.
Or, alternately, just use chalk to decorate it and divide it up to be like a calendar. You can get semi-permanent chalk, like the kind that Trader Joe's and Whole Foods use for their signs. It won't smear off, but it will wash off with cleaner.
I would glue the fabric onto foam board first and then attach that foam board onto the chalkboard. That way you have something that will probably attach more easily compared to fabric and you can put thumbtacks in the foam board to hold stuff up
Would spray adhesive work?? I have the same problem this year. I was planning on using spray adhesive from Hobby Lobby. I'll let you know if that works.
Thanks for all of the great ideas everyone! I will be putting a lot of stuff on the calendar wall...so, I'm thinking attaching cork with command strips, then covering the cork with fabric will be my best bet.
I have 2 extremely ugly white boards in my room. My best friend taught in the room before me and she hot glued a lot to the white boards and ruined them. I was going to try paint or fabric, but once I hung all my pocket charts, you can't see anything. Problem solved!
I had 2 chalkboards in my room this year that I covered with fabric. I used hot glue, and it worked great. I am moving rooms, so I took it all down before I left for the summer. It came down easily and didn't mess my chalkboards up at all.
My friend had a chalkboard in her room that she hated! She never used it and it was a pain to put paper on! We decided (with administrator permission) to paint it! It worked and she simply tapes everything up to to it. We painted it bright green so it looked like paper or fabric. We went to a local paint story and they gave us suggestions of what would work best...of course I can't remember what we used specifically!
I have about 2.5-3 feet of old chalkboard peeking out next to my whiteboard. I put double sided duct tape to hold my paper up (this stuff sticks really well and I would bet it would work with fabric). It did take the finish off the chalkboard when I pulled it off to change colors. But, I have never had anything fall off!!
Ok, I just covered my boards with sheets and spray adhesive (Elmer's brand bought at Wal-mart for $4.97)! It worked! And I used spray adhesive to put border on top of the fabric. I covered 7 boards with 4 sheets and have some leftover. Flat sheets were $3 each at Wal-mart - MUCH cheaper than fabric!
Since it's not a white board, I think regular masking tape would be fine. OR, you could use several strong magnets to hold it in place. Gotta say, I've never thought to cover my extra chalkboard with fabric. I think that's a terrific idea I may have to try one of thse years.
When I had chalk boards in my classroom I would put clear packing tape on the item I wanted to adhere then use a low heat hot glue gun. In this case, I would put the clear packing tape on the back of the fabric and put hot glue on the board. It worked every time. Then when it was time to remove I used a paint scraper. I hope this helps.
What about using velcro? They sell the heavy duty kind at walmart. It helps stick on to your board because the back side has a sticky type of glue on it and the front is velcro and should attach to your fabric. I plan to use that with my board this year, I sure hope it works. Also, dont forget to buy a special spray for the flame retardant? In case the fire department goes...good luck!
Do you all not have fire codes that prevent you from using "regular" fabric or sheets? If we use any fabric in our classrooms, we have to have proof (either a tag from the manufacturer or receipts from purchasing fire-retardant spray) that it is fire-proof. Just something to be aware of.... Chele
I put electrical tape all around the fabric, and it didn't damage. My book recommendation board that has a magnetic backing is actually a piece of fabric covering the whiteboard in the room.
WOW! Great ideas! I'm going in tomorrow to start working on my room...I need to think about all of these ideas and decide on one to do! THANKS!!
I have a chalkboard in my room, and I never thought about covering it with anything. I decided to use the hot glue gun idea and I put up a blue backgroun on my extra chalkboard. I didn't use fabric, I used non-fade paper. It worked great! Once I get my classroom put back together, I will be posting pictures of my classroom on my website.
I've covered chalkboards with colored contact paper...the kind that comes on a roll. I've had a partner help me roll it out smoothly (with a yardstick), one of us at each end, and it came out beautifully. At the end of the year, it peels right off, if you want. Then the few random sticky spots, I just used Goo Gone on and it came right off. In my experience, I've found with anything else, it just eventually sags and gaps.
I covered my whiteboard with felt using hot glue. I am putting velcro on the back of things to use on the board and using it as a felt board too.
I covered an already-damaged blackboard with fabric by heavily stapling the fabric into the staple strip running along the top of the blackboard and then using hot-glue on the other three sides. It has been up for four years now and still looks perfect and tight. But don't ask if the hot glue damaged the board...I haven't had to find out, and I didn't worry if it would because the board was already so cruddy.
double-stick velcro??? It comes off cleanly, and the industrial strength would hold your fabric up well. Personally, I would use felt, because you can "stick" things to it. You could even use the little velcro dots for your calendar stuff!
I just covered a chalkboard with paper. I used Mauvelous tape.. it's super sticky and works fine. It comes off easily as well and doesn't leave any residue.
I have used hot glue every year on my magnetic chalkboard. If the fabric is thin enough, magnets will stick to it. At the end of the school year I peel the fabric off and the glue just peels off. It has never damaged my chalkboard. Good Luck and if you use this idea, be careful with the hot glue. I wear a cotton glove to smooth the fabric as I go so as not to burn my hand.
