Stamped & Chalked Images

As some of you know last week I was on a supply challenge for myself. One of the items I pulled out and dusted off was all of my chalks that I hadn't used really since I first encountered Distress Inks.

Several people asked how I created the stamped/chalked images so I thought rather than e-mail everyone individually I would post how I did it here :)

Supplies:

Rubber Stamp (inkadinkado)

Chalk (any brand will do)

Clear Embossing Ink

Cotton Ball or other applicator

Cardstock

Instructions:

1. Stamp the image onto your cardstock using clear embossing ink. Now I have an embossing pad that is a little bit less than clear. See I'm not so good at cleaning off my rubber stamps so I tend to have a bit of ink transfer to my clear emb. pad. This however works to my advantage with this technique as you will see from the stamped image. It adds just a bit of grey color to the "clear" image which really helps to see what I want to chalk.

2. I begin by adding the lighter colors first. Simply pick up a bit of the chalk using one of the little chalk balls (sorry I don't know the technical term) or other applicator. Gently DAB the ink over the desired areas of your image. DO NOT rub the ink across the image...it will smear the still wet embossing powder and ruin the image. Trust me on this...it took me a few tries when I first started messing with chalks to get this through my head.

Continue chalking working from light to dark....

3. Once you have finished chalking the entire image you will notice lots of excess chalk dust scattered about the image. Do NOT wipe it away ~ if you do so it will leave streaks of chalk across the paper. Blow away this dust and it will be gone in an instant!

4. Your image will look something like this.... Now I usually end up with a "halo" effect when I use the chalk balls...not so much when I use the makeup foam applicators (like for eye shadow). I didn't have any so the balls will have to do.

To fix this problem I just chalk the background...

Again, blow away the excess chalk powder when you are finished. As far as finishing the image off I never spray it with any "sealer" of any sort. I would however suggest you let the embossing ink dry completely before you add it to a card or other project. While the ink is still wet you could smear it but normally it doesn't take too long to dry.

And here is what my finished image looks like....

and used in a card...

So there you go...

Quick and easy

yet it creates stunning results :)