DIY chalkboard paper – Christmas art

Whoa, it’s time for November’s #12MonthsOfDIY already! Is anyone else overwhelmed by all of the Christmas everywhere, I mean some trees are already up and decorated!! Oh my goodness, I am in shock… not sure why I’m in shock though as Christmas comes every single year… every year I get flustered and start rushing around like a crazy lady, but somehow Christmas always turns out wonderfully. Well, I’ve officially started my Christmas prep, there is no tree up yet… so never mind that this is the only thing I have done, we’ll just pretend I am on the ball and all is calm behind the scenes, are you with me? 😉

For this month’s challenge we are using paper… be sure to check out what my talented friends have created with paper at the end of this post, SO much inspiration. We would love it if you would join us for our Instagram challenge, it’s so easy to join in and have your project (our favourite) featured on all 12 of our Insta accounts.

To play along:

1. Follow your hosts on Instagram:

@lifeisaparty
@BrooklynBerryDesigns
@love_create_celebrate
@vinyetetc
@ziajojo
@lifeovereasy
@pmqfortwo
@timewiththea
@thediymommy
@heathernheels
@freshcrush
@sustainmycrafthabit

2. Share a photo on your public IG account of your own paper DIY project with the hashtags #12MonthsofDIY and #novemberpaper by November 29th.

3. Check back in on Instagram on November 30th to see if your project has been chosen as our favourite, easy right?

My project is so easy and turned out so well that my brain is now swimming with the possibilities, chalkboard paper gift tags, chalkboard paper gift wrap, chalkboard paper labels, chalkboard paper garland… it can literately go on and on, just let your imagination go and have some fun. I decided to make some art with some watercolour paper I had on hand, but first I painted my watercolour paper with chalkboard paint – like I said SO easy. Let me tell you how I did it.

Tutorial

Items you will need:

9″ x 12″ watercolour paper (I used 90lb weight)

Chalkboard paint black (apply with foam roller)

White carbon paper or white sewing tracing paper

Vintage pant hanger

Decorative ribbon

Image for tracing onto the chalk board paper

chalkboard markers

white chalk

spray adhesive

Snow flake punches (optional)

Steps to creating chalkboard paper art:

Paint one sheet (one side) of watercolour paper with chalkboard paint, let dry. I did 2 full coats.

Once the paint has dried spray glue a clean sheet of watercolour paper (in a well ventilated area) and lay your painted paper on top of the glued paper smooth it flat with the palm of your hands, this will help it stay nice and straight, your edges will not curl.

Season your chalkboard paper like you would with a normal chalkboard. Seasoning a chalkboard is easy,  rub the entire surface of your chalkboard with the side of a piece of chalk until the whole thing is covered, wipe off excess with a soft cloth.

Print an image or a fun winter saying… or whatever strikes your fancy from your computer and make sure it’s sized to fit over top of your chalkboard paper. I just used an image from a google image search – “hand drawn Christmas quotes”.

Lay your chalkboard paper flat on a table, place your image on top of your chalkboard and use painters tape to hold it steady. Lift the tracing image from the bottom and slide your white carbon paper in between the chalkboard and your tracing image. (carbon side down towards the chalkboard)

Use a sharp pointed pen and a fair bit of pressure and trace over your image. When you take your top image off of your chalkboard you should have a faint outline of that image, now simply trace over that with some chalkboard markers as mentioned above, use any colours that strike your fancy, I used white, green (that was a fail, too dark for the black) and gold. I also used a snowflake punch on some plain watercolour paper and glued on some decorative snowflakes for fun… it’s completely up to you how much you want to decorate your new chalkboard art, once I was happy with how it looked I simply clamped the vintage pant hanger on the top of the paper and added some decorative ribbon. I hope you like this very simple DIY project and it’s given you some ideas… I know I want to try my hand at making my own chalkboard gift tags next.

Thank you so very much for stopping in at this very busy time of year, I hope these paper projects will give you some inspiration and make this holiday season crafty! xo

Now it’s time to see the rest of the DIY PAPER project ideas from my Canadian blogging friends, enjoy!

From the top left, they are:

Free Love Peace Joy Christmas Printable from Sustain My Craft Habit

Silver Leaf Paper Trees for Christmas Tabletop Decor from The DIY Mommy

Rustic Gift Wrap Ideas from Love Create Celebrate

Book Page Feather Garland from Life Is A Party

Deconstructed Plaid Wrapping Paper from PMQ for Two

Make 3D Paper Flower Christmas Wreaths from Time With Thea

How to Make a Paper Garland from Fresh Crush

Quilled Paper Snowflake from Lifeovereasy

Funny Printable Gift Tags from Brooklyn Berry Designs

DIY Linocut Print Kraft Paper Christmas Gift Wrap from Woman In Real Life

DIY Chalkboard Paper Christmas Art from Vin’yet Etc.

DIY Floral & Paper Decoupage Girl Power Mirror from Heather in Heels