It seems like everyone is doing a first birthday chalkboard poster (and smash cake) for their little one’s bash, so of course, I wanted one for my little man.

I actually started working on it when Rowan (aka The Cub) was about seven months old, and just added things and tweaked it little by little here and there until it was finally complete.

And it was so easy too!

 

First Birthday Chalkboard Poster Idea

 

How to Make a Birthday Chalkboard Poster

If you’d like all the juicy details on how I made this poster, you’re in luck! I’ve finally been able to find time and put together a full tutorial for making one of these bad boys…..check it out here!

 

First, I did a Google image search for a chalkboard background and downloaded one that had a large resolution (there are plenty of free ones out there in different colors and varying amounts of chalkiness….if you’d like more details on how to find one, check this out!).

Then I downloaded A TON of free fonts.  Like a bazillion.  I wanted most to look like (sort of) real chalk handwriting, and some that were whimsical and fun, and others that were dingbats that I could use for the frames, brackets, and images (like the tooth and cake).

Check out some of my favorite fonts in the collections below!

         

You can even turn your very own handwriting into a font for free, too!

 

From there, I fired up Photoshop Elements and just played around with the different tidbits of info about The Cub.  There was lots of editing, but then again I could probably play around with it forever, continually making adjustments and tweaking this or that, never fully satisfying my OCD tendencies….

Once again, I’ve since put together a full tutorial for how to make a birthday chalkboard poster!

 

I made two versions…..a black and white version that I printed out and used as a decoration at his party, and then a colored version with his updated height and weight statistics.  I also changed a few items in this version as well….how did I forget to include his love for the Big Bang Theory’s theme song and TV remotes???  Silly mommy.

 

The reason I left it as black and white for the party was because I wanted to print it as an engineering print, which can only come in black and white.  I had it printed at Staples as an 18″ x 24″ by uploading the file to their website and selecting my local store for pickup.  It was ready the following morning, so The Cub and I hopped in the car to get it….and it was only $1.85 (including tax!).

If I had printed that same size in color as a poster print it would have been much, much, MUCH more, probably at least $25 or so.  No way was I spending that!  So the colored version will be printed out as a measly 8″ x 10″ at home and awarded a page in his baby book.  Maybe I’ll frame one and hang it is his room as well.

 

UPDATE!! I’ve since had another little boy, and I naturally made him a first birthday chalkboard too. This go-round, however, I went with a colored poster instead of an engineering print. They’re super affordable now. Woot!

You can read all about Mr. Brayden’s poster as well as how to make a birthday chalkboard photo prop here!

 

The plain Jane black and white version worked just fine for The Cub’s party though.  I had some foam board on hand already, so I just trimmed it down to size and used some spray adhesive to attach the print.  I had also purchased some super cute dinosaur washi tape since The Cub’s party was dino theme, so I used that to make a simple and colorful frame.

 

 

Here’s another first birthday chalkboard poster I made for my niece….hers is in the style of Classic Alice in Wonderland!

 

And here’s another one I made for her second birthday….this one is zoo-themed and has her picture, too!

 

No Photoshop?  No problem!

Are you wanting to make a chalkboard poster for your little one’s birthday?  Do you have a Mac but don’t have Photoshop?   If you answered “yes” to these questions, then fear not….you can make your own chalkboard poster using Preview!

I even wrote up a tutorial showing you just how easy it is, and you can check it out here.

 

I just LOVE this poster for The Cub’s first birthday.  I love how it’s solely about Rowan and is his personality in print.  All him.  These are the little things that we can look back on and smile at years from now.

It will be fun when he’s older and asks “What’s ‘Boots & Pants’ mean??” and I can tell him about a Geico Insurance commercial that used to air on TV that had a talking pig sitting poolside who beat-boxed “Boots & Pants” over some dub step music, and that would make him break out in the biggest smile and do the cutest little head shimmy from side to side.  See, little things.

Thanks so much for stopping by!