Ombre Technique + Video

One of Chalk Couture's newest image transfers (You're the Sweetest) has the prettiest cake!  It would be so pretty for bridal, birthday, and baby events.  Of course, it makes for a pretty wall decoration on any given day!  Today I gave that gorgeous image a pretty ombre color (Lilac and Orchid) and placed it on a Mint Green cake stand.  You can see a video of the process to make this project HERE.  Please be sure to Like, Follow, and Share my Facebook Page!

In real life, the cake stand has such a vintage flair all decked out in that soft mint color!  Since my creation isn't for any particular occasion, I thought it would be a perfect "be happy" reminder.  

The products used to create this project can be found by clicking the following links:

You're the Sweetest Chalk Transfer

Bee Humble & Kind Chalk Transfer

Mint Green Chalkology Paste

Orchid Chalkology Paste

Lilac Chalkology Paste

Squeegee

Aiden 9x12 Framed Chalkboard

"Mountains are Calling"

I shared this video on my Facebook page and wanted to try posting it here . . . I hope it works!  In the video, I am showing the framed chalkboard that I decorated with Chalk Couture's Mountains are Calling Chalk Transfer and White Chalkology Paste.  

I will eventually learn how to add music to my videos, but at least it's a sped-up quick one to watch.

This is what the Chalk Transfer looks like:

If you have questions about Chalk Couture products, send me an email or leave a comment.  You can see all of the awesome products HERE.  

Be sure to visit my Facebook Page--LIKE, FOLLOW, and SHARE it!

Buffalo Plaid/Check Holiday Sacks

I was wrapping some gifts last night and, as I was filling these adorable buffalo check fabric sacks that I found at Walmart, it occurred to me that a little burst of white Chalkology Paste would be a great addition.  Can I just tell you how satisfying it was to spend about 5 minutes decorating these five sacks?  They looked cute to begin with, but now they look exciting!

The images that I used are from two different Chalk Transfers . . . Mistletoe and Ho! Ho! Ho!  I wanted to link to the Mistletoe transfer but, for some reason, it isn't showing up online.  

Check out all of the awesome Chalk Couture products--shop with me!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE MASON JAR GIFT CARD HOLDERS
THAT WERE PACKAGED IN SOME OF THESE FESTIVE BAGS 

Holiday Gift Bags

I thought these fabric bags (sacks?) were adorable with their drawstring and generous 5" x 7" size, and I liked them even more once I finished decorating them with Chalkology Paste!  The ones in the picture below feature the Build-a-Gingerbread-Man Chalk Transfer.  Cute, huh?

The three bags in the next photo feature the following Chalk Transfers:  Winter Woodland Scene and Wise Men.

I was amazed at how little time it took to decorate these bags!  Seriously . . . it took longer to decide which images and colors to use, and the Chalkology Paste dried super fast on the fabric.  Although I could have added a fabric medium to the paste so the bags could be laundered, I opted to not do that.  I placed some cardboard inside the bags and just used the paste straight out of the jar.  Chalkology Paste takes quickly to fabric, so I would recommend that you decide where to start and then just place paste on the image, spread it as far as it will go, and then add more paste as needed.  You definitely want to be very careful to not get any paste off of the Chalk Transfer because you can't just wash boo-boos off of fabric.  ;-)

Chalked ornaments make perfect adornments for gifts

We have a small tree at the mountain house that either needed a nice wrap around the base and/or gifts underneath, so today I wrapped some empty boxes to make it look better.  I found the buffalo plaid gift wrap at Walmart, and I love it! Even if the boxes are empty, a Christmas tree needs packages under it, right?

My apologies for the poor photo lighting.  I look forward to sharing a photo of these beauties after they've been placed under the tree.  That cute lantern that I used on the ornament is from the Outdoors transfer from Chalk Couture, and I'm sorry to say that it has been retired.   The burlap ribbon, Jute Twine, greenery (Boxwood Wreaths), and Green Sprigs are from Stampin' Up! and can be purchased from my web site.

"Vintage Truck" Christmas Chalkboard

Oh, the fun I had today working on this Christmas chalkboard!  Well . . . it was really fun until I had to re-do the truck when my placement of the tree image (in the back of the truck) ended up just a tiny bit too high.  I stood back and looked at it, but I just couldn't look past the fact that it was about 1/16" higher than the railing.  If you've never worked with the awesome "Vintage Truck" Chalk Transfer, then you might not know that the adorable truck is a 3-step process.  The first step was the part with the red paste, then the part with the white paste, and then the tree.  It all ended well, though, and it was worth it to me to re-do it.

I love the images that come with "Vintage Truck" because they cover a variety of seasons/holidays.  For instance, the large framed chalkboard that I used today is the same one that had the "Hocus Pocus" Halloween design that I posted HERE.  As much as it pained me to wash away that design, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't convenient to be able to do so!  I like not having to buy a new chalkboard for every design that I want.  Being able to just spritz a design with water and wipe it away is pretty nice.  Of course, if I loved it enough to keep it around all the time, I could just seal it and then buy a new chalkboard.  It's all about the options, right?

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Oh, if only it felt like November!  I love Fall and Winter but, in North Carolina, Summer seems to be the prominent season, much to my dismay!  I had to switch the heat pump back to A/C last night.  Tonight, though, I had the house to myself so I went to Spotify, turned up the volume, and decided to do something chalky.  I picked up one of the boards that I recently stained and chose to work with Chalk Couture's "Baby It's Cold Outside" transfer.  I just love the mittens, although they don't show up all that well on this board.

If you haven't worked with Chalkology Paste and Chalk Transfers yet, then I'm sure that I can't convey just how fast and easy it is to create a decorative sign like this one.  The colors of paste that I used are Orchid, Caribbean, and White.  As I removed that large snowflake transfer (from the mitten on the right), I thought about adding glitter while the paste was still wet.  It turned out beautifully!  When I was sure the paste was dry, I lifted the board and let the excess glitter fall onto a piece of paper so I could return it to the glitter container.  

It's hard to take photographs at night--harder still to capture the shimmer of glitter, so I had to do some tweaking to the photo.  The colors are truer in the first photo.

If you have any questions about Chalk Couture or want more info, leave a comment or send me an email (see "Contact Me" in the right sidebar, just below my photo).

Sampler kits are in the house!

I put together some sampler kits today that include a Chalk Transfer, Chalkology Paste, a squeegee, mini chalkboard (it even comes with an easel), and instructions.  If you'd like to experience the fun that is Chalk Couture, let me know!

Good Tidings

The boards that I painted, stained, and waxed recently were staring at me today, begging to be put to good use and this is what I created:

I'm not exactly sure where this sign will land, but it will definitely have a place with my holiday décor!  

Chalk Couture products that I used include:

"Good Tidings" Chalk Transfer

Evergreen Chalkology Paste

Red Chalkology Paste

White Chalkology Paste

Small Squeegee

If you'd like to create a Christmas sign for your home, visit my web site!  If you'd like for me to make one for you, leave a comment with your email address or contact me at randari at Hotmail dot com.

Bottle Cap Shaped Ornament

I love oversized Christmas ornaments--for the tree, hanging on a door knob, added to a wreath, etc.  This metal ornament, shaped like a bottle cap, was a dream to work with because its 7" diameter is a gracious size for so a variety of designs.

Images from two Chalk Transfers ("Ho! Ho! Ho!" and "Days Until Christmas") were used to decorate this item, and my Chalkology Paste colors are Aquamarine, Red, and Lime Green.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Days Until Christmas

Both of these Chalk Transfers are out of stock as I'm writing this post, but check my web site because a lot of popular transfers are expected to be re-stocked in early November.

It's just a bunch of hocus pocus

I have to admit that I felt quite intimidated when I first saw the size of the witch hat in the Hocus Pocus Chalk Transfer.  Even though Chalk Couture clearly gives the measurements of transfers, I'm often surprised.  The hat is huge!  Let me put it in perspective for you . . . the chalkboard frame that I used is 24" x 30".  Oh no, I don't mind at all if you get out the measuring tape and see how big that is.  What I learned while working on this project is that I didn't need to feel intimidated because it really was easy peasy, and isn't that purple Chalkology Paste just beautiful?!?!

The Chalkology Paste colors that I used are (in order as they appear at the bottom of the photo):  Red Orange, Charcoal, School Bus  Yellow, Purple, Orange, Lime, and White.

Let's talk about the pretty leaves.

I wanted the three leaves to look somewhat realistic, but I needed to work quickly since I was putting the paste on all three at the same time.  I randomly placed drops of Red Orange and School Bus Yellow paste on the three leaves (from the Fall Leaves Chalk Transfer) and then used a squeegee to blend the paste, making sure that all areas of each transfer had been covered.

The two Chalk Transfers that I used are:

Fall Leaves

Hocus Pocus

So what do you think?  

If you'd like more information about any Chalk Couture product, contact me at randari at Hotmail dot com.

My wooden boards are ready!!!

It was such a beautiful day in North Carolina, so I set up a workstation outside.  I now have some pretty wooden boards ready for a great chalk paste design.  I even took my wireless speaker outside and thoroughly enjoyed the Don Henley station on Spotify.  

Decorative Pillows

Last month, I used the Farm House transfer to decorate this fun bundle of decorative pillows.  My mother was sweet enough to make the pillow covers, and she even purchased the stuffing and sewed the covers closed after I had stuffed them!  If it seems like she did more work for this project, that would be because she did.  

The Farm House transfer has a great selection of images for home décor, gifts, etc.  I can't direct you to this transfer because it's out of stock as of this writing (it's very popular and sells out often), shown below are the images included on it:

The Chalkology Paste colors that I used are to decorate the pillows are:  Mocha, Charcoal, White, and Red.

If I can answer any questions regarding Chalk Couture, please feel free to leave a comment or email me at randari at Hotmail dot com.  I would love it if you would visit my Facebook Page--just be sure to Like, Follow, and Share it!  I would appreciate that!

Build-a-Gingerbread Man

I think this gift ensemble, which was created by my team leader, is just scrumptious!  She used the Build-a-Gingerbread Man transfer from Chalk Couture to decorate the gift boxes and cotton bag.   

I love that the transfers and Chalkology Paste can be used on a variety of surfaces, such as fabric, canvas, glass, wood, metal, etc. and that the transfers can be used over and over again!  All you need to do to take care of them is wash them with water and then wipe them with a disinfecting wipe.  The wipes that I use are by Seventh Generation.

A work in progress

Thank you for visiting!  As you can tell, this blog is a little on the skimpy side, but I'm working on it--slowly, but surely.  I invite you to visit my Chalk Couture web site.  You can also find me (and my project photos and videos) on my Facebook page--don't forget to click the "Like" and "Follow" buttons.