Screen Door Cork & Chalk Board Tutorial

We've tried out at least 3 different calendar apps in an attempt to keep all of us on the same page with our busy family schedule.  But sometimes low tech is the way to go.  I created this cork board and chalkboard from a screen door.  It looks great in the hallway and serves as a family hub of sorts.  I write our schedule for the week on the chalkboard side and pin any party invitations, school event fliers, chores, tickets etc. to the cork board side.  It was a fun easy project and it came together pretty quickly.

I picked up a screen door frame for less than $25 at the hardware store.  It didn't have any hardware or screen on it; it was completely unfinished. The least expensive sheets of wood I found were wood paneling for walls.  I just grabbed the ugliest cheapest kind they had and asked them cut it a 1/2 inch smaller than the door frame.  I also bought a length of narrow wood trim so I could add a little detail to the door.  You'll also need:

• chalkboard paint & a foam roller
• a jar of Martha Stewart Living crackle specialty finish & a plastic putty knife
• cork - the hardware store only had really large sheets of cork but I found smaller rolls at the craft store
• primer
• paint
• hardware to hang your board on the wall

Lay the sheet of wood panelling ugly panel side down and put the door frame on top lining up edges of the door with the edges of the panelling.  Using a pencil mark off the area that you want to be the chalkboard side.  Follow the instructions on your can of chalkboard paint to paint that side of the back of the sheet of panelling.  When your chalkboard side is done staple or glue your cork to the cork side.
Before you paint the door you'll want to add the trim.  I cut lengths that were the right size for that section of the screen door and glued them in with wood glue.
To give the screen door a weathered worn look I primed it, then spread the crackle finish on with a putty knife.  Once it was dry and crackle-y I painted over it with white paint.  To make all the cracks and texture show even more I dipped a rag in a darker paint (I used a blue that I had left over from another project) and rubbed that into the cracks in the finish. 

Now all that's left is to nail the panelling to the back of the screen door, add the hardware to hang it on the wall, and save that few minutes every morning not having to answer "What are we doing today?".