Unique Recipe Holder

I recently came across some jumbo wooden clothespins that I acquired when I was on the design team for a craft supply company, and it occurred to me that I could use one of them as a recipe card holder.  For someone with aging eyes, such as myself, an elevated recipe would be a great thing!  I gave one of the clothespins a coat of chalk paint, and then I added some decorative pizzazz by using  Chalk Couture's Shimmer Silver and Coral inks to transfer images from the Roll with It and Mama's Kitchen Chalk Transfers.  

The Coral ink is such a bright, striking color, and the Shimmer Silver is really quite shimmery!  It's hard to capture the shimmer in a photograph, but can you see it?  

The Mama's Kitchen Chalk Transfer isn't available in my online store just yet--it will be available in April.  Both of the transfers that I used for this project are great choices for decorating tea towels with the Couture Inks. 

Did you know . . . Our Couture Ink offers permanent color when heat set and is ideal for fabric, apparel, and other soft surfaces. Read all use and care instructions for fabulous results, and test a small area on your favorite surface before use.  The ink can also be used on metal, coffee cups/mugs, ceramic, glass, mirrors, etc.--anywhere that you want a permanent application for your transferred design.  

What goes with springtime and Easter?

Tulips and bunnies, of course.  

I had a lot of fun working with the Build a Bunny Chalk Transfer, and I also used text images from Chalk Couture's Love Grows Here transfer.  After the pail of tulips and bunny were in place, they really needed a ground.  Since I wanted to use text, it occurred to me to employ the ombre technique to give the "grows here" a grassy look.  I love the way it turned out!

I think everyone needs to give Chalk Couture products a try!  If you would be interested in a small "try-it" kit, leave a comment.  As well, let me know if you have questions about the awesome products and how to use them.  If you'r3 ready to do some shopping, just click HERE to visit my online store.

Preparing for Spring

"Full Bloom" is such a lovely transfer, and it's quite easy to use.  It looks like this:

It's easy to see that the two largest images are intended to be layered, and there's an easy trick to that.  The image with the most detail (the upper image with the branch/stem) should be the second image that you chalk.  I used Bubble Gum and White Chalkology Paste on the flower images, allowed time for the paste to dry, and then I placed the branch/stem transfer on top of the flowers, lining them up the best that I could.  I used Mocha Chalkology Paste, and you can see in the photo how well the detail shows up.

The second new transfer that I used is "Today is a Good Day".  Isn't that a cute expression?  

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I thought the top left corner needed something, so I chose the feather from "Tribal Feathers" Chalk Transfer.  I randomly placed small "globs" of Bubble Gum and Mocha paste on top of the transfer, and then I just swirled it with my finger and made sure all open areas of the image were covered.  

The framed chalkboard that I used for this project is the 9" x 12" Aiden.  It's a wonderful size, and I can't stress how AWESOME it is that when I'm ready to change the design, all I have to do is spritz the design with water.  Let the water soak on the paste for just a few seconds, and then use a paper towel or damp cloth to just wipe the design away.  

ONE chalkboard to hang in ONE place that you can use OVER and OVER again.

Find all of the products mentioned in this post at https://regina.chalkcouture.com.  Contact me at randari at Hotmail dot com if you need any assistance.

"Farm House" Pail

A trip to Ikea is always so exciting to me, and this little pail (and the fake plant, too) came home with me last week.  I thought the tin would be a perfect surface for some of Chalk Couture's brand new Couture Ink.  In case you haven't heard of it, it's a permanent ink that can be used on fabric, metal, glass, ceramic, or just about anywhere that you want a design that won't wash away.  As I looked through my [ever growing] collection of Chalk Transfers, I just loved this one element from the "Farm House" transfer.

Paired with black Couture Ink, it turned out to be perfect for my inexpensive pail!  On my Facebook Page, I have shared a video of this project in the making.  There's also a video ("Think Ink") that gives more detailed info about Couture Ink.  Visit my Facebook Page to view the videos.  Be sure to Like and Follow my Page, too.  

If you'd like to see all of the Chalk Couture products and/or shop with me, click HERE.

What a fun (wooden) mason jar project!

These three items . . . 

became this:

Over the weekend, I painted the unfinished wooden mason jars with chalk paint and, once the paint was dry, I lightly sanded them to create a smooth surface.  A small amount of wax was applied to the surface where I would use Chalkology Paste, but I wouldn't say that wax is a requirement.  I used images from Chalk Couture's Under the Sea transfer to decorate the jar using Thai Teal, Nantucket, Mint, White, and Evergreen Chalkology Paste.  The top needed something, and didn't the twine finish it nicely?

Topped it off with a bird

As I looked at the chalkboard that I decorated for Valentine's, I kept thinking that it needed a little something.  A bird on the branch!

I had a little goof by his tail feathers but, still . . . it looks complete now, don't you think?  The bird image is one of the transfers that comes with Bless Our Nest.

Bye Bye Christmas, Hello Valentine

Today I played with Chalkology Paste to create a Valentine decoration for my home.  My surface is the Aiden chalkboard from Chalk Couture, and I absolutely love that I was able to wash off this Christmas design and re-use the chalkboard:

Aiden Chalkboard decorated for Christmas

Aiden Chalkboard decorated for Valentine's

Notice the ombre technique on the hearts border along the bottom?  I'm a wee bit addicted to that fun technique, which was created by blending the red Chalkology Paste with the white (obvious, huh?).  I have a video of this project HERE.  Be sure to Like, Follow, and Share my Facebook page and the post featuring this project!  :-)

Chalk Couture products featured on the Valentine project include:
Bless Our Nest Chalk Transfer (re-useable)
Cut Apart Hearts Chalk Transfer (re-useable)
Red Chalkology Paste
Bubble Gum Chalkology Paste
Peachy Chalkology Paste
White Chalkology Paste
Mocha Chalkology Paste
Small Squeegee

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?