Tag Archives: illustration

Chalk It Up to the Holidays

If you saw my recent Weekly Wishlist, or follow me on Instagram (@onuwriter06), then you know that I’ve got a thing for Chalkboard prints. It’s a recent thing that has come on quite strong, too. And once you’ve fallen head-over-heels for a typographic print, there’s only one thing to do… try to recreate it yourself.

I started off by trying to free-hand my own versions of ones I’ve found online (mostly on Esty), carefully studying how the letters are created, connected and filled out. Here’s one example from my “sketchbook:”

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The next step was to decide on the phrase I wanted to write (so hard! there are sooooo many great Christmas song lyrics), and sketch it out. This way I could decide which words I wanted to emphasize, which would be serif or sans serif, etc. I also had to decide on a color. I didn’t want to do a black background because I wanted the colors to feel a bit more Christmasy. I chose Americana Hauser Light Green Acrylic paint (purchased at Michael’s, and also used on my clay lollipop ornaments. Such versatile paint…). I think the canvas size is 14″x18″, if you’re wondering.

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I prepped the canvas by painting the whole thing with the green paint. I only did one coat, and didn’t worry about making it too perfect or uniform. So some parts are darker/have more coverage than others. One of my friends described it as “rustic.”

Then I used a pencil to lightly sketch out the words “Christmases” and “White” to get the placement where I wanted them. And then it sat on my kitchen table (i.e. crafting space) for a few days while I got up the courage to put paint to paper, err, canvas.

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Here’s an action shot. Lucky for me, Tom was hovering with my iPhone camera on.

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And here’s the finished product:

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Acting Sketchy

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So, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not much of an artist or designer. But I still get the itch to draw from time to time. So, I thought I’d share some recent things from my “sketchbook” (read: whatever notebook is closest at hand) that I’ve been playing around with.

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Articipation

Just ordered this colorful 8″ x 10″ print titled “The Rain” by Michel Valenton from the Erin Loechner Specialty Shop at The Foundary. (Not a member? Want to be? Send me your email address and I’ll send you an invite!)

I love all of the different colors, but particularly the bright oranges and pinks. I think it will perfectly complement the color palette I have planned for my Library/Office, which is white, magenta, and tangerine! Plus, how could this print not make you smile every time you see it? It’s so bright and cheery! Can’t wait to get it, frame it, then put my entire office design together (ha!). For more on that, check out yesterday’s List-O-Mania post!