Jac o' lyn Murphy: My favorite gift for crafty friends!

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

My favorite gift for crafty friends!


You know the joy when you find the perfect, unique, creative gift?
Yay, this is it!!
My friends at Workman Publishing sent me a copy of 
The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering by Valerie McKeehan,
 and I couldn't have been more excited.

I have always been in awe of beautiful chalkboard displays.
Hip restaurants, cool coffee bars and trendy boutiques all have them.
I stare at them and think, "how on earth do they do that?".
This book is CHALK full of awesome information.
From basic tools and tips, to how to prep a chalkboard 
(did you even know you needed to "season" it?),
 to how to easily master basic letter forms... it's all in there.
There are so many inspiring, gorgeous, creative projects, 
you will be creating masterpieces in no time.

I'm packaging them up for a long list of friends 
and I thought I'd try my skills in a little chalkboard wrap.

and prepped it by rubbing the side of a piece of chalk over the surface, 
then wiping it with a dry paper towel.  
It gives it the seasoned, old feel of a well loved and used board.

I then sharpened my chalk with a large handheld pencil sharpener.
This tip from the book makes all the difference in the world.

A ruler helped me mark off the center lines for my packages "ribbon"...

then I sketched a rough, light outline of my bow...

filling it in until the bow was "tied"...

I blended with my finger...

and touched up any loose ends with a cotton swab...

Wrapped and ready for under the tree.
(oh and one for me)




                See what other inspirational blogger are doing with Chalk Lettering:    

                       Arrow and Lace Designs
                     Girl Inspired
                  Handmade Mood
                  Rad Mom Cool Kid
                   Flax & Twine
                  Molly Jacques 
                   A Little Craft in Your Day
                  Craft Gossip
                  Nearly Crafty
                  CraftSanity

                   Canary Jane 

It's available at

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for describing your wrapping paper design and including the great photos for clarity. -- soparkaveataoldotcom

    ReplyDelete
  2. OMGoodness!! I've always been interested in Chalk Lettering!!!!
    Would so LOVE to learn how!!!
    THANKS for Sharing!!!

    ReplyDelete

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