Make Perfect Chalkboard Art

I purchased this great framed chalkboard second hand and instantly knew it needed to go in my kitchen. The kitchen also happens to be the entrance to our home, so I loved the idea of hanging something customizable and to have it where people can see it. 

You have to be a bit computer savvy to create the template for the chalkboard in the way I have. I'm using simple and common software programs that most people should know enough about. If you have Photoshop, you're using more advanced programs than I am and should know what you're doing. I also did also look at stencils in stores and either couldn't find what I wanted, or they were too expensive. You do have the option to shop for one if you wish. My way also allows for customization of the size according to the dimensions of your chalkboard (you can't with a pre-made stencil). You can also reuse the designs with the way I'm going to show you.

Step 1: Preparing the template - create a Word document

First you need to start by measuring your chalkboard area. Create a new Word document and size the document to match the size of your chalkboard. Mine is 19"x19". When designing within the Word document, remember the edge of the Word page is also the edge of your chalkboard - you don't want the design to be too big/too small.

Search the Internet for chalkboard design templates and ideas, making sure to find some fairly large in size and resolution. Some designs come outlined already. The design I liked was filled with black and I needed to print it to a fairly large size, so I didn't want to waste black ink.

Crop any watermarks or borders you don't want and insert your template into Word and stretch it to size, remembering to not get too close to the edge. If you lose quality (lines become pixilated or blurry), you'll need to find a design in a larger resolution. Right click the image and find "Format Picture". You'll want to adjust the Brightness and Contrast until just the outline is left. You can ignore this step if your template already has an outline. Save the Word document as a PDF.

Adjust brightness and contrast so just outlines are left.

Template should look like this after editing.

Step 2: Print the template and tile the pages for large chalkboards

You'll need to print the PDF file and tile the pages if the design is larger than the paper size your printer can print. Arrange the tiled pages and put them together like a puzzle. There will be some cutting and taping involved and I suggest using scotch tape because you'll need to trace over the tape in a later step. Trim any excess paper from around the design and see if it will fit on your chalkboard.

Left: Taping and cutting the template; Right: It fits!

Step 3: Next you'll need to have the design facing down and colour with a stick of chalk on its side, all over the back of the printed design. This is my easy way of making "carbon paper". Coat it really good and if you can, use a dark coloured chalk so you can see what you're doing. Place the design chalk side down, carefully where you want it on the chalkboard, and secure with masking tape or painters tape. With a pencil (not too sharp), you'll need to start tracing the entire design. Hopefully when the tracing is complete, you'll be left with a copy in chalk on the chalkboard. I could just barely make out my design but was able to freehand some missing spots by having a smaller version of the design beside me.

Step 4: Now for the fun part! I bought this (expensive enough) chalk marker at Michaels ($5.79) by Craft Smart and I have to say, I wasn't overly impressed with it. I would compare it to using paint - you need to keep fluid motions and not stop when drawing or it's hard to make end and beginning lines look similar. I'm right handed, and I had to work from left to right and top to bottom because chalk pens do smudge. It did the job fine but maybe a bit more practice and I can get it to look the way I want. I also decided to not fill my design in with this chalk marker because I didn't want to "waste" it. I opted to fill in the words with plain old chalk and used a blow dryer to remove the excess chalk. For colouring the shapes, I tried the very inexpensive chalk crayons I bought from a dollar store ($2.50), and they worked the best of everything and next time I'd like to fill letters with these. The colours came out vibrant and with nice textures. Using my fingers I smeared chalk from my "carbon copy" template around the outside of the chalkboard to finish the look. All the chalk pens and crayons claim to be washable from a chalkboard with a bit of soapy water, so we shall see about that.

I'm sure there are other techniques you can try to create chalkboard art. I had fun doing this anyway and can't wait to change my chalkboard in a few months.

Mod Podge Photo Transfer - Sign

So I recently discovered the amazing Mod Podge, and in particular, Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium. It's a glue type substance that transfers images to almost any smooth surface.

Mod Podge Photo Transfer:
What you need:

1. Mod Podge Photo Transfer Medium. You can find this at almost any craft store.

2. Something you want to transfer onto. Almost any surface will work - wood, glass, metal, clothing material, etc. I found this peg board note organizer at Homesense. It has a burlap backing on it and it was exactly what I was looking for.

3. An image cropped and scaled to the size you need. If there are any words or letters on the picture, you will need to make a mirror image before printing. You will also need to have it printed with a dry toner printer (laser printer), NOT ink jet. For a rustic look, I teared the edges of the image.

4. (optional items):

Mod Podge Sealer; acrylic paint; razor blade; painters tape; extra brushes.

The Steps:

1. (optional): paint the item you will be transferring onto with acrylic paint in the colour you choose. I did two coats.

Painting the burlap left it sharp and bumpy. Scraping with a razor and then vacuuming it off made it smooth.

2. Prepare your image and cover with Photo Transfer Medium. I cut out two semi-circles for the image to fit centered on the board. (*remember, to make adjustments like this, you'll need to lay the image face down and measure or cut because that's how it will be transferred).

Lay newspaper or parchment paper down and spread the Medium over all edges. You need to spread down enough to cover the image completely - you shouldn't see much of the image through the Medium. My image was about 11"x17" and I used almost a whole bottle of Medium.

3. You may need help if you have a large image like mine, but carefully lay the transfer face down on the object, being careful not to touch the image side that has the Medium. Gently smooth out air bubbles and wipe off excess Medium with a paper towel. Let it sit for AT LEAST 12 hours, 24 hours if you live in high humidity.

4. After you've left it to completely dry, dampen the entire area with a clean cloth or sponge and let sit for 1-2 minutes.

5. Using a gentle, circular motion, start rubbing the paper off the image with the damp cloth or sponge. If you don't get it all off completely at first, dampen the areas and rub again. You'll be able to see any spots you missed.

6. Wipe completely clean with a soft cloth or vacuum with a brush (I had to vacuum because of the rope frame). Make sure you use a clean, soft vacuum brush and that the transfer is mostly dry.

7. And that's it, it's done. You could coat it with a thin layer of Mod Podge Sealer for extra durability.

8. I made this as a gift and to add a personal touch to it, I ordered a metallic gold decal from Bright Swan Creations and stuck that over the photo transfer. Then I added in shadow lines with a black Sharpie to make the words pop.

Note:

If you didn't tear the edges of the image and still want a rustic look, this can be done at the rubbing stage. Just rub extra hard and the image will come off.

This was a fairly big project to use Photo Transfer Medium with, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you were wanting it to look like it was made as part of the object you were transferring to. I could have just used Mod Podge Sealer over the image and that would have likely done the job. But it was still fun to experiment with Photo Transfer Medium! There are so many techniques for sign making, and it's really just trial and error.

And, if you're really good with computers, you could edit the image in Photoshop to have a watercolour paint look to it and transfer onto canvas. Experiment with the image and objects you can transfer to.

Barn Board Necklace Organizer

Recently I purchased a good bunch of second hand costume jewelry (necklaces). I've never really been one to wear necklaces so I didn't have a spot for them (it was time for a change, and I wanted to start dressing pretty I guess). I scoured Pinterest and found a way to hang necklaces that I liked and was sooooooo close to stopping into a Homesense and buying one like it because I've seen them in the store before. So literally I was on my way out to town, and stopped at the barn to check the live trap (we have a raccoon problem) and happened to spot some small pieces of barn board laying in the pile of longer boards. I had totally forgot we had repaired a board a few years ago, so there was lots of little pieces left that we just kept. So a quick look in my odds and ends bucket, and I found some of the drawer pulls I removed from the bathroom cabinets to replace with new ones when we moved into the farm house. For some reason, they were all different designs and for some reason I kept them all. Here's my reason for keeping them I guess!

Barn Board Necklace Organizer:

What you need:

1. A space you can safely work with power tools and spray paint.

2. A piece of barn board cut to the size you need. Scrub it and wash it if required.

3. Doorknobs or drawer pulls in a design you like:

4. Flat ended screws in the length to fit thickness of wood and size to fit in knobs; cup hooks (optional); eyelet hangers (or another method to hang as required) - more on these below.

5. Spray paint (optional). I found this enamel paint by Beauti-Tone I thought would stand up to wear and tear pretty good.

6. Power drill and wood drill bits in the same or similar size to the screws.

7. (Optional) Multi-tip screwdriver.

The Steps:

1. Start by spray painting the knobs if that's the route your choosing to go, and allow to dry as per recommendations on the can before moving on to the next step.

This paint went on really thick and covered well. It also dried amazingly and the knobs turned out really neat.

2. Place the knobs where you want them to go and mark with pen. Then drill your holes with the power drill. Barn board can be hard and it may take some time to get through it depending on thickness of the board,

3. Mark and install the eyelet hangers (or your choice of hanger). You should measure so they are even to each other. I hardly ever measure - I eyeball it and hope for the best.

The kits come with a hanger and screw to install it. You can use your multi-tip screwdriver to drive the screws in.

4. Attach the knobs. You may need to use the power drill to drive the screws through the holes if you've used thick barn board like I did. Or else you'll have tired wrists after turning with a screwdriver.

The screws I found have a flat end so the screw can go all the way into the knob. The kit also came with some nuts and you can use these if the screws don't fit all the way into the knobs (each of my knobs had different depths and you can see some exposed metal from the screw - this is hidden however when the necklaces are put on them).

5. (Optional) Eyelet hangers are installed by twisting them into the wood. I wanted to use a few of these for the more delicate necklaces.

And that's it. Not including the drying time for the knobs, this whole thing took me about 20 minutes.
Now hang it on your wall and use away!