How to Stencil a Sports Fan Chalkboard

Stencil these easy baseballs, basketballs, and footballs on a homemade chalkboard for a sporty project that's sure to be a hit.

Sports Fan Chalkboard
Learn how to stencil the Sports Fan Chalkboard.

Skill level: Beginner
Time: 3 hours
Stencil Design: Download the Sports Fan Chalkboard as a PDF.

What You'll Need

  • Precut masonite, 20x20 inches
  • Fine-grade sandpaper
  • All-purpose sealer
  • 1-inch foam brushes, 4
  • Painter's tape
  • Tape measure
  • Chalkboard paint
  • DecoArt Americana acrylic paint: Mistletoe, Lamp Black, Snow White, True Red
  • Plaid FolkArt acrylic paint: Sap Green
  • Delta Ceramcoat acrylic paint: Poppy Orange, Burnt Sienna
  • 3/4-inch stencil brushes, 3
  • 1/2-inch stencil brushes, 3
  • Satin-finish spray varnish

Instructions

Step One: Prepare the masonite for painting by lightly sanding it and applying an all-purpose sealer.

Step Two: Use tape to mask off a 3-1/2-inch border around the board, leaving a 13-inch square in the center of the board. Follow manufacturer's instructions to paint this square with chalkboard paint. Let dry completely; remove tape.

Remove the masking tape when paint is dry.
­Remove the masking tape when the paint is dry.

Step Three: Carefully re-mask the square, taping on the chalkboard side this time so the border can be painted. Make sure the tape placement is exact so you're left with a nice, clean line of paint between the border and the center of the board.

Basecoat border Mistletoe with a foam brush; let dry. Repeat if needed for complete coverage. Do not remove tape yet.

Step Four: Measure and mask off a 3-1/2-inch square in all four corners of Sports Fan Chalkboard the border. Basecoat the corner squares Sap Green with a foam brush. Repeat for complete coverage. Let dry; remove all tape.

To stencil the Sports Fan Chalkboard, paint the corner squares with a foam brush.
Paint the corners with a foam brush.

Step Five: Position the basketball stencil 1/2 to 3/4 inch to the right of one of the Sap Green squares. Stencil Poppy Orange with a 3/4-inch brush, applying two coats if needed. Repeat on the remaining three sides of the board.

Step Six: Position the basketball overlay; stencil the ball detail Lamp Black with a 1/2-inch brush. Repeat on all basketballs. Trick of the Trade: Position the balls at different angles to add visual interest to the border.

Stencil basketballs and footballs to decorate the borders of the Sports Fan Chalkboard.
Add decorative stencils to the borders.­

Step Seven: Position the football stencil 1/2 to 3/4 inch to the right of the basketball. Stencil Burnt Sienna with a 3/4-inch brush, applying two coats if needed. Repeat on the remaining three sides of the board.

Step Eight: Position the football overlay; stencil the ball detail Snow White with a 1/2-inch brush. Repeat on all footballs.

Step Nine: Position the baseball stencil 1/2 to 3/4 inch to the right of the football. Stencil Snow White with a 3/4-inch brush, applying 2 coats if needed. Repeat on the remaining three sides of the board.

Step Ten: Position the baseball overlay; stencil the ball detail True Red with a 1/2-inch brush. Repeat on all baseballs.

Step Eleven: Let dry completely, then mask the chalkboard center. Mist only the border of the board with at least two coats of satin-finish spray varnish. Let dry between coats.

Trick of the Trade
Masonite (pressed hardboard) is quite inexpensive and is available at most home centers and hardware stores, where you can have the board precut to your specified dimensions.

Bright Ideas

  • Bounce these balls across a wall in a playful border, stenciling some balls high and some low within the playing field.

Use creative stencil variations of baseballs, basketballs, or footballs to personalize the Sports Fan Chalkboard.­
Add your own touch with stencil variations.

  • If your child prefers one sport over all others, choose just one of these stencil designs for this project or throughout the room.
  • In sports, refs are usually associated with stripes. Why not stripe up a little fun by stenciling vertical stripes of each ball across the room for a faux wallpaper look?
  • Stencil balls randomly across the surface of a sisal rug. To finish it off, tape off stripes around the border and paint them black and white.

In the next section we'll add style to stodgy storage, with stencils for Creepy-Crawly Nesting Boxes.

Want to find another stencil project? See: