Create, Laugh & Play
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Do you love to DIY but struggle to find the time, inspiration and gather the supplies? Welcome to your auto-ship solution! Direct to you shipping each month, access to instructions and lots of variations and inspiration in our Chalk Elegance community groups. You will find your creative confidence with the silkscreen designs and have your projects ready to go in a short amount of time, every time!
What is included in my Club subscription?
Check out all the super exclusive items available to Chalk Couture Club Couture members.
Club Couture pricing $27.99/month + tax (FREE shipping!) (Need to crunch the numbers... Regular B-size transfer $19.99, 3 paste singles $11.97, Shipping $15.99 = $45.95... compared to Club price $26.99! WOW you save $19.96) ** All pricing in CAD JULY 2023 OFFER: Past club member rejoin for $10 in July! Coming in August 2023 club members receive e **even lower shipping rates **bonus cut out pieces to match stencil design **squeegee of the year ALL FOR THE SAME PRICE AS NOW!
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Reverse watercolour technique with Chalk Couture
This DIY project is a simple and fun one that gives you unique yet controlled results. Let your inner child out with this easy reverse watercolour technique!
Supplies:
Silk Screen Stencil Plastic - such as plastic bag, laminating sheet, page protector Sharpie marker Water colour paints or Chalkology Paste Watercolour paper Paint brushes Mixing Trays Grabyour Chalk Couture supplies
DIY long lasting stickers and labels
Water bottles, plastic cups, Tupperware labels and more. Sometimes you want to personalize them to stand out for quick identification or a joyful look to your eyes!
This easy DIY sticker will allow you to create a long lasting, washable design with ease. For yourself or for a gift these will be an easy project for you!
 The image had washed off... so we fixed it up fancy with our DIY vinyl & silkscreen ink to create a long lasting sticker!
Supplies
Chalkology Ink Iron, heat press or mini press Stencil of choice Permanent vinyl-- my preference Oracal 651 parchment paper Your creativity Grab your vinyl colour of choice. You can pre-cut a shape by hand or use your electronic cutting machine like a Cricut or Silhouette Cameo. Or you can create your design and cut it out after-- a little fussy cutting (hand cutting close to the design) can create a unique look. * Fuzz of your stencil (Tap it a few times on a towel to remove a little of the stickiness, we don't want to pull the vinyl off it's backer yet!). * Place your stencil as desired. * With your inks and create, create create. Gently pull your inks across the design, remember no need for hard pressure. *Gently remove your stencil. Wash the ink out of the stencil so you can re-use it. *Allow your ink to dry on the vinyl, you can speed this up by using a cool air fan/hair dryer. *Using an a heat press at 300F or an iron (med heat), heat set your inks by placing a piece of parchment between the design and your iron. Press for 30 seconds -- just long enough to set your ink but not enough to melt the sticky off your vinyl! *Stick your vinyl to the item of choice & admire your fabulous work! Let's STICK on the creativity! I'd love to see your designs.
Ideas to Organize and Store your Silk Screen Stencils
Silk screen stencils (or transfers) are a fabulous product because they are reusable! You can mix and match designs for custom creations, unique looks and creativity. If you are like most crafters... inevitably you need to find a way to organize the supplies. Let me share a few ideas on how I organize my fabulous silk screen stencils (transfers).
The first thing to think about is that your transfers (stencils) should be stored flat, do not fold them! There are a variety of ways you can accomplish storing them flat in your space...
Think about your space- utilize the options that fit best for your room (it could be more than one, as is the case in my space). Do you have closet space? ... You can hang them on hangers, pants style with clips work well or use shower curtain rings to hang them off a bar. Wall space? ... Hang them up, the bags have a handy little hole perfect for hanging (thank you design department)! You could use a peg board easy to rearrange as needed. Or hooks on the wall- remember your stencils will get heavy as you add more on, so consider how they anchored. If planning to hang a lot on one spot, I would suggest securing a piece of wood across a couple of wall studs and then putting your hooks in desired the locations on the piece wood. This will help give you strength to hold without the inevitable hole in your dry wall. Door space? Similar to wall space. You can utilize the front or back of a door (closet/room). I love to use wreath hooks to hold my transfers. They come in a variety of sizes and colours. This is great for organizing too, should you desire to sort them. You will find lots of options around Christmas time. They are easy to remove from your door, when you are ready for a room makeover. Chalk Couture sells a "Transfer Tote". This is a great way to store your transfers as it fits all the way up to E size. You can see I have one hanging on a wreath hook along with my loose ones. I keep off-season ones in there, or use it to transport when I go be creative with friends. It holds A Lot with a handy little pocket for smaller designs or accessories. Drawer space? Go for it-- lay them in a drawer. You could use a cabinet drawer or many crafters love to use a tool box... Not just for the garage anymore, bring those beauties into your creative space! Shelf space? Store your smaller transfers in a binder, (A & B or cut aparts work well in here). Use page protectors and slip your design right in. Great way to sort them as well. Use a different binder for seasons or themes. I have all my Club Couture designs in one binder. Another shelf space idea use an Art Portfolio. They come in a large variety of sizes and similar to the binder they have page protector type pages inside so you can slip your designs right in!
Do you have a different way of storing your silk screen stencils? I would love to hear about it!
DIY wood burn design cutting board
This easy DIY cutting board is created with wood burning so that you can safely use it for food preparation. Easy to create with a stencil and wood burning gel. You can buy pre-made wood burning gel or check out our DIY wood burning gel blog post & create your own!
This project is part of our 12 Crafts of Christmas series.
This easy DIY project will have you ready to create gifts for everyone! Teachers, coaches, friends and yourself of course! Supplies Wood cutting board (ours was bamboo) Stencil Wood burning Gel -- purchase or see our DIY recipe Food grade mineral oil Heat tool Apply your silk screen stencil. Using your choice of wood burning gel, gently pull it across your design. Be careful not to go off your stencil. Remove your stencil slowly. Let your gel sit for a moment while you wash off your stencil. Ensure you are working on a heat safe surface. I use a heat protecting mat & it works fabulous. Using a heat gun/tool slowly move around your design. Continuously move the heat. Although I have not tried it -- I have heard others set their design in the heat press or oven However, you do not have control of which sections set darker. This is why I prefer the heat tool as I can control how dark each section gets (with practice!). Allow your design to cool and then go over your board with food grade mineral oil. Your board is now ready to be a functional decor piece! See this project come together in the video below.
Cookie Pocket DIY gift  This is an easy DIY gift that is sure to please the gift recipient. Just a few simple supplies and you have a great gift for co-workers, teachers, coaches and more. This project is part of our 12 Crafts of Christmas series be sure to check them all out!
Supplies Pocket hot pad Tea towel Package of cookie, brownies etc Transfer (stencil) Chalkology Ink Select your pocket type hot pad (available in a variety of places from online to dollar stores). Apply your transfer (stencil) of choice. Using a small amount of ink, gently pull the ink across the mesh of your silk screen. A tip-- go in one direction for best results. You do not need to push hard, gently pull the ink across it will soak through. Remove excess. Ensure you stay on your stencil, although the ink is still wet it will be very difficult to remove from places you didn't want it! Check your fingers ... then Peel & reveal (maybe squeal!) Repeat for the tea towel. Allow your ink to dry (over night is best). Heat set your ink with a house iron- place a piece of parchment paper between design & iron. On medium heat (no steam) gently press for 4min, continously moving the iron. OR use a heat press/easy press- 350F for 30seconds. Fill your pocket with choice of packaged cookie mix. Add a spoon/ spatula. You have a perfect teacher, coach, volunteer or co-worker! Check out the video to see it come together.
Snowman Soup easy DIY hot chocolate gift.
Start by Inking your design on the cup. Fuzz your stencil (this removes some of the stickiness since the silk screen stencils love to super stick to glass! Lay it flat ensuring no ripples or bubbles are happening (or ink will leak under).
Take a small amount of ink & gently pull across the stencil design. You do not need to push hard, just light pressure across. Scrape off the excess ink. Slowly & gently remove your stencil. Allow your ink design to fully dry. Depending on your humidity this can take a day or two, you can speed it up with a hair dryer or fan. Once your ink is fully dry, heat set it to help the permanency of it. Place it in a cold oven, set oven to 350F, once oven is at temperature set 30min timer. Allow cup to cool along with the oven. Although some have run their cups through the dishwasher, I personally suggest gently hand washing for long lasting designs. FILL your cup! Add in a packet of Hot chocolate, chocolate kisses, candy cane, instruction poem & "freeze dried snowballs" aka Marshmallows. I wrap up regular mini ones. I have even seen some people like to dehydrate their marshmallows in the Air Fryer (adds to list of things to try!).
 There is nothing like looking through the pages of a new catalog. Not only do you see the new products it is filled with inspiration and ideas too.
 I love flipping the pages of a paper catalog and marking my take note of ideas, designs and wish list items. This might go back to the days of the Wish book (oh lord, did I just date myself?!) There are three ways you can get your hands on the twice annual 80+ page hard copy catalog! 1- the easiest way is to be a Club member. With every new release a catalog will ship automatically for FREE! Become a Member 2- Add onto your order. For only $2.66 each you can add a catalog onto your order (flat rate shipping always applies) Hard copy catalog 3- Send me a message! I love to connect with my customers, answer all your questions and send out happy mail. let’s connect  Now more and more you can access digital catalogs. What I Iove about digital is you can access it from almost anywhere! And easily share with a friend with just a click of a link. Check out the Digital Catalog The way the shop site is set up each & every stencil & surface includes an inspiration photo – it’s inspiration every time you check it out. Visit the Shop Site for inspiration Personally I make use of all three options. Paper, digital & shop site! Yes I love to have options for my inspiration!
 Together we can light the night and improve the lives of hundreds and thousands of people in multiple countries. Although to many of us a solar light is simply a yard decoration, something to enhance the atmosphere. For many around the world a simple solar light can be the difference of making a living, feeling safe after sunset and improving health. You are thinking HOW?! This is where the program Watts of Love comes in.  We don't think twice about flicking a light switch on to see after sunset. However, in Malawi many light their homes with kerosene that is not only dangerous and hazardous to health but also costs a lot of money- often leaving families to make a choice between kerosene and food. In countries like Malawi, the specially designed hands free solar light from Watts of Love makes the world of difference. It means people can have longer work hours thereby increasing productivity and increasing their opportunities. Not only for adults but children too, who can complete their school work after dark, with a simple safe light.  How does the Watts of Love light help? By not buying kerosene the families can save that money to use for learning a new skill, buying materials to create with and saving for bigger items like a pig that will have piglets to sell, a chicken to lay eggs to feed their own family and sell excess, a cow for milk, etc. By taking kerosene out of the equation families lives quickly change for the better. Not only does the program Watts of Love provide light they also teach recipients on how to make the most of the opportunity. It's so much more than a drop and run program. How can I help?! The number 1 way currently that Chalk Couture contributes to Watts of Love (WOL) is by rounding up orders. A few cents here & there added up to $200,000+ usd last year! A single WOL light costs $50USD. I'll let you figure out the math on the round up totals! 1. Easiest way to support-- Round up your order. 2. Add a WOL donation -- on the shop site you can add it like an item. Find it here 3. Purchase the special WOL transfer ($2USD from each is donated) Find it here 4. Watch our Facebook community group for special items and events to participate in. Remember more lights = more communities = more lives positively impacted
 Wood burn projects have always amazed me. They are so elegant looking and yet so rustic and natural. They seemed so challenging UNTIL I discovered you can use stencils & a heat gun to create your designs . MIND blown! YES you can have the look of wood burn but the perfection of a stencil. There are a few different products on the market to use: Scortch pens, scortch paste, torch paste. The struggle many have is that when using a stencil would need to avoid bleeding under, yet you need to be able to apply enough product to have it work. Thanks to other crafty minds a wood burning DIY gel has been created (recipe below)! Why a Gel? Gel is thick enough to not bleed under your stencil yet thin enough to go through mesh if using a silk screen style stencil (perfect for multiple projects of the same design!)
 Ready to DIY this mind-blowing wood burn gel? Supplies: Warm Water Food colouring (2-3 drops) Thick-it Amonia Choloride In a glass bowl, combine 1 Tbsp Amonia Chloride, 8 tsp Thick-it, 1/2 cup warm water and food colouring. Stir well. The food colouring is so that you can see your application as this gel is clear. The colouring will not affect your project. Place in container. This will make plenty of gel for your project as you use very little! You may wish to 1/2 this recipe. A Tip we have picked up from using this gel. Over time it will turn back to liquid. To slow this process store your gel in the fridge.  Using your gel paste with silk screen stencils. Just like paste, ink or etching cream the gel is very easy to use! Simply apply a small amount across your image & use the squeegee to remove the excess. Remove and wash your silk screen stencil. Grab your heat gun and start burning that wood. Be sure to move the heat around so that you do not over burn one spot. You will see the wood start to change colours-- more heat = more burn, less= less burn. Play around and figure out the look that you want to achieve. Bonus of wood burning... it's food safe! Simply sand your finished item gently and apply mineral oil over top. Grab a bamboo cutting board & give it a fun design! We want to see your creations! Be sure to tag us @ChalkElegance on Facebook & @Chalk_Elegance on Instagram when posting your Burn gel/silk screen creations!
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Stephanie Nixon
A busy mom of three finding me time, therapy and fun with Chalk Couture and crafting! 
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