Inspire Me Monday: Chalkboard tags

Hi there! Dina here for another Inspire Me Monday!

I have a habit of looking for things to alter when I shop... at thrift stores I’m always looking for paintable boxes, wood pieces or frames. A couple of months ago I spotted a set of wooden chalkboard tags at Michaels – grabbed them... tucked them in my “things to paint” drawer... then forgot about them. You know you’ve done it too... ;)

When I found them again I had a new stack of Power Poppy stamps on my desk! Perfect combination for a fun little chalkboard technique.

I started by stamping the apple box image from Farmers Market using Memento Luxe ink – this is a great bright white on black surfaces.

I added highlights to the image using a white Prismacolor pencil after heat-setting the ink. I normally color shading and leave highlights white, so this takes a bit of practice. Highlights hit where the image is closest to the light and curving toward the light. I pictured a light source to the upper left... I normally don't bother with a light source, and just imagine myself as the light source when I color.

Here’s the completely colored image – I sketched in a horizontal line to give the box something to sit on, and stamped the sentiment, adding a few highlights with a pencil there too. The tags came with twine hangers, which I removed for stamping.

Here’s another tag I added some color to – I’d suggest coloring the white highlights first. The color added is the ‘true color’ of the image (a poppy from Countryside Bouquet Deluxe). Leave the shadows uncolored, and let the black show through in those areas.

One more tip for adding texture to a background – this is drywall tape that you can get at any hardware store. It’s great as a stencil or even a stamp! You can see how I used it on the completed tags below.

If you don’t have wooden tags, you coul get the same effect with die cut chipboard or wood pieces painted with chalkboard or matte acrylic paint.

Enjoy the close ups!

(This reminds me... I’m heading to my parents’ house today in N. Idaho – can’t wait to go to the farmer’s market with my Mom!)

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