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Chalking with Templates
by Jennifer O'Byrne
(Aug 3, 2002)
Chalk has always been known as a “Stamper’s Product” but move over stampers, FairyTale Creations has created the leading chalking templates with four different categories in their Scrapbook Magic brand. Chalk Talk I & II, Dazzling Doodles, AlphaDazzles and ShapeDazzlers. Each of them work great with chalk as well as the usual markers, embossing, heat embossing and more. Chalk is very forgiving! If you make a mistake, erase it! Really, it comes right off with a chalk eraser. This We will start with Chalk Talk I & II, since if you saw these Chalk Talk I creates clouds in about 2 seconds…and that is blindfolded! Simply lay the template onto your paper, holding the template in the center section. Start on the template with a cotton ball and some blue chalk and dust outward onto the paper. Move the template in a random pattern…just let go of controlling it! Flip the template so the cloud corner is upside down and dust close to the edge for waves. Do as many layers as desired. Create picket fences with the scalloped edge on the template. First dust the scalloped edge with blue to highlight the sky above the fence. Your fence will be completely white still. Then take a straight edge and line it up to each of the points on the scallop and dust along edge with brown chalk to create the boards of the fence. This fence can become any season or theme you wish. Add our snowflakes and snowmen (Snow Fun) or some fall leaves (Great Outdoors) and our new Family Tree with some pumpkins for fall. We are going to create a spring scene so we will add some grass from Chalk Talk II and then add extra details such as vines, flowers and bugs (Gracious Garden & Catch the Summer).  The Beach scene is a snap! Now don’t get scared…we are going to “free-hand” the beach. Ok…it isn’t hard, just dust a slop of brown chalk and fill in the beach quickly. Then created your horizon line with the jagged edge from Chalk Talk I. Make sure you will be dusting downward into the water. Once you have established the horizon, fill in quick waves using the jagged edge over and over in small segments. Now you get to have some real fun! Add a sandcastle and seashells from Sand n’ Sea, buckets and shovels from Summertime Fun or my favorite…footprints from Child’s Play with the same color brown as the sand was done in.  The center on the templates is a sunset, so you can either add this to your scenes or use it separately with some of the incredibly detailed die-cuts and frames available.  FairyTale Creations has a wonderful idea book with lots more ideas for this and other templates. Chalk Talk II is just as interesting in appearance but creates very different scenes. We will show you how to create a castle and window scene with the template. There will be a new idea book out in summer 2002 with lots more ideas on this and other templates.
First we are going to start with the castle corner, dusting blue chalk outward into the sky. Flip the template over and do the same for the other side of the tower. Create as many towers, as high or low as you wish. You can also add straight castle wall tops. Once you have all the towers you want, use a straight edge to create the tower walls. Make sure you are dusting outward. Use the archway to create doors or draw bridges, then add the grass edge onto the ground. The doors or drawbridges can be very fun, since you can hide pictures or journaling inside and this is great for a birthday invitation. Now add your bricks from Basic Wallpaper with any color you would like. Now the decorating is up to you. Add vines, flowers, butterflies and all those pretty things for a princess castle or if you want a spooky castle for Halloween or Harry Potter themes use black chalk instead of blue for the sky, then add a full moon and witch from Autumn Fun. The window area on Chalk Talk II is another great way to create the scene that you want. Decide the theme you want such as snowmen and snowflakes or a spring scene. First lay the square section where you want your window to be. Dust it with a light blue so the whole window has color. DO NOT remove the template! You will lay your other templates over the top. We will lay the vines from Gracious Garden over first and dust it with green chalk. You will want to press a bit harder than usual because you are going through two templates. Remove the vine template and add flowers from the bouquets on the same template with a cotton swab. Then use the cloud corner from Chalk Talk I and add your clouds. Your Chalk Talk II template should still be in place while adding the clouds. Ok….now you can remove Chalk Talk II and place the arch over the window so there is equal space around the whole window. Using your cotton ball, dust brown right on the edge of the arch to give the window a wood frame. This is a fun idea to use with our Christmas 12 x 12 set, which has a fireplace and Christmas Tree on it to create a “Christmas Eve” layout.  AlphaDazzles are just as fun with Chalk! We are going to use two of the templates Fun in the Sun and AlphaShadows. First lay the AlphaShadow template down and choose the letter you want. Chalk it in the desired color. Now remove the template and place the corresponding letter from Fun in the Sun over the top and erase the letter. You now have a clean background to start with. You can either chalk the Fun in the Sun letter or use Galaxy Markers to color it in. Either way, make sure to add little highlights with the White Galaxy Marker to the designs, such as highlights on the sunglasses. ***image10:center*** The newest addition is the ShapeDazzler series. Just hitting in stores, these templates are fun and great additions to scrapbook layouts! Simply chalk the design, allowing colors to touch together to create shadows and color changes. When I say color changes, think of art class…if you mix red and yellow you get orange, yellow and blue makes green and so on. Use a cotton ball so that these colors can touch, do not use a cotton swab! Here are some samples of the ShapeDazzlers. We hope this gives you courage to try chalking, you will love the look and versatility it gives your layouts! You don’t have to be an artist! Trust me on that…my husband can do this! Most of all…Have fun with it and let it flow! See layouts by the scrapjazz Design Team and other scrapjazz members using these chalk templates in the scrapjazz gallery!  Shop at the Scrapbook.com Superstore for all your Scrapbooking Supplies!Enjoy 5-Star service, HUGE selection and LOW prices! Click here to start shopping! Featured Scrapbooking Supplies (from Scrapbook.com):
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scrappers are coming around to know and love this beautiful medium. Chalk has a wonderful, soft look which can not be achieved by any other product. With almost an air brushed quality, the edges blend smoothly with no harsh stops and starts. In this article you will learn the newest techniques using chalk from “The Chalk Lady”.
also works great for some designs such as our American Flag (American Pride). Chalk the red and blue then overlay the stars and erase them instead of chalking them. To fix chalk, you do not have to spray anything over it. Simply place a piece of typing paper over the top of your design and rub your hand firmly over it. This will press any loose chalk into the paper fibers. Set the page aside for about ½ hour, within 24 hours the chalk will be absorbed into the fibers of the paper. Paper is made from trees, therefore the oils are still present. The chalk is dry and will be absorbed by those oils. If you REALLY want to spray, make sure it is acid free and DON’T use hairspray!
templates in your favorite scrapbook store, you would look at them and wonder “What are they?” But once you saw what they had to offer, you would quickly snatch them up and look for borders to go with them.
Creating a castle with Chalk Talk II is a quick and easy task. You are the builder, so have fun with it.
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