Hanging Chalkboard Sign

These are corbels I bought at a flea market. At first I thought I would make a mantle-shelf with them, then I noticed that they didn't match, so I really could not use them in the same piece. Then I came up with the idea of a hanging chalkboard sign. 

First I cut a two "frames" from a sheet of 5/8" plywood,

 then cut a circle out of a thinner hardwood panel.

I painted them with a black chalkboard paint.

Once dry I glued and nailed the frames on either side of the chalkboard making it like a sandwich.

Clamp it down and let it dry.

Next I needed an arm at the top of the corbel. I had a decorative piece that I salvaged from an old buffet hanging around. I'll use it on one of the corbels and use some 1x4s to make a similar one.  

After cutting and sanding the edge I ran it through the table saw to mimic the groove in the other piece.

I'm adding a small piece of wood between the arm and the corbel to make it a little easier to join the two pieces together.

I cut a piece of cove trim to dress it up a bit and attached it to the bottom of the arm.

The smaller wider piece is screwed to the bottom of the arm...

...then I started the screws in the small piece...

...and attached it to the corbel.

Once the construction was done I mixed up some home made chalk paint in a basic brown.

Then I dry-brushed on some lighter colored paint on all the high spots to mimic some distressing.

I made a black glaze, painted it on and gently wiped it off, trying to push it into all the little crevices. 

I ended up with two really cool chalkboard signs!