once upon a time . . .

. . . I ran a bookstore. And I used to make elaborate displays with box cardboard and packing paper, and signs on chalkboards. I found these photos the other day, and wanted to share. These are all free-hand and took between one and three hours each.


From the last book of a Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket:










From a display of new summer books:




To advertise a book club discussion of Suite Francaise:




From the side of a magazine rack near the children's section:








To advertise pre-orders for the final Harry Potter book:






From an appearance by PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk, to advertise her book Let's Have a Dog Party:




To celebrate our second anniversary at the store:




To advertise a shelf of books by our favorite publisher of quirky books:






To advertise our book club meeting for Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys:






To announce the party celebrating our store's closure after three years:




To make the chalk boards, I used a quart of chalkboard paint, painted over foam core board (in the large frame) and on repurposed bare wood shelving for the smaller board. In three years, it never chipped or flaked; good useful stuff! I'm hoping to use it again soon to put some chalkboards on the bebe's bedroom door.

Have you used chalkboard paint in any unusual applications? Share links in the comments section below.


(p.s. you can make these photos bigger by clicking on them . . . but you probably knew that!)


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