October Diva Blog Hop--Halloween

How is it possible that it's already Diva Blog Hop time for the month?!  If you're joining me from Sandy's Blog, I'm the last stop for today (We're a small group this month!).  If you just started here, feel free to head to Sue's Blog and start from there!

Today's theme is 'Halloween'!!  And it just HAPPENS to be my favorite holiday of the year!!

So, to start off, I want to share some Chalkboard art I saw demonstrated at Convention this summer.  For non-Stampin' Up! supplies, you'll need a chalkboard, chalk, a 'pencil' sharpener & aerosol hair spray (Aqua Net was suggested for use, but I was unsuccessful in tracking any down, so just used a different brand--BUT it DOES need to be an aerosol can).  To create the design, I used My Digital Studio (MDS) and created the image I wanted to transfer on to the chalkboard.

Design created using My Digital Studio

Next up, I exported the jpeg then re-inserted it into a new page/photo in MDS and then MIRRORED the image, which I printed out on my home printer through the program.

Mirrored image

I found this next part of the process to be a tad 'putzy', so I HIGHLY recommend for your first project that you pick an image that does not have too much detail, so you don't get frustrated as you work!!  So, now you'll need to sharpen the chalk stick to a sharp point and begin to draw on top of all of the printed lines on the paper.  You'll frequently need to stop and re-sharpen the chalk.  I think I went thru almost two full sticks for this entire project.  For lack of a better explanation, you're basically creating a 'chalk carbon' of the image to use in the next step.

When you get the design fully traced, you'll want to lay it carefully on top of the chalkboard and rub to 'transfer' the image to the chalkboard.  BUT, you're not done yet!!  Now comes the fun part.  To re-draw over the transferred image lines to darken them!!

You can see part of the trace still remaining to be filled in on the word 'Halloween'

And here's the completed image:

Now, obviously chalk on a chalkboard is NOT meant to be permanent, which is where the hair spray comes in.  The hair spray allows the chalk to 'set'.  Either way, it's still not completely permanent--to do that you'd need to use a sealant of some sort.  So if you want to clean off the chalkboard after the holiday and create a new design, you can do so using a little soap and water!

Chalk image with hair spray applied

O.K.  Do NOT freak out when you hit the design with hairspray.  It will 'look' like it's disappeared, but as it dries, the image will re-appear.  I found on mine, however, that some of my images did not stay as dark, so I reapplied some of the chalk and hit it a second time with hair spray, which helped.

Completed design next to mirrored transfer image

AND here it is on display in my living room:

MDS is SUCH a great tool for holiday (Halloween) decorating.  If you check out my Diva Blog Post from last month, there is the great coffin download for Halloween treats, and this week, one of the Weekly Deals is the 'Spooky Treats Designer Template Download'.  I already own it, but for those of you who don't, it's a GREAT deal to check out!

 The kids in your neighborhood will be flocking to your door when they hear about your irresistible Spooky Treats. With this digital-exclusive kit, you’ll have designed candy wrappers, lollipop collars, and a soda wrapper along with additional elements to make coordinating projects. Kit includes a 15-piece stamp brush set, seven Designer Series Paper patterns, four embellishments, one punch, and a three-page 8-1/2" x 11" treat template. Coordinating colors include Basic Black, Lucky Limeade, Pumpkin Pie, and Whisper White.

So, you know I can't talk about MDS without sharing some scrapbook pages, and I happen to have a 'few' that fit today's theme perfectly!!

These first two pages are template pages that came with some of the MDS downloads I did:

And a few more designs I CASEd (copied and 'stole' everything) to highlight some of my adorable great-nephews:

I have a couple other pages I created a few years ago that I'm still waiting for the perfect photos to put into the pages--also ideas that I copied from other talented folks!

I really do NOT spend a lot of time putting photos of me into pages, but I do have a few.  First of all, my best friend Sera and I.  Our mom's made each of our costumes.

And a few different looks of me over the years:

And finally, a couple photos of my college roommates and I on the holiday (over 20 years ago--YIKES!!)!  I created these two pages as a two-page spread.

I hope you've enjoyed our Halloween Diva Blog hop today, and that you have a few ideas to get ready to have a Spook-tacular holiday yourself!!

For quick reference, here are the sites that are hopping today:

• Sue
• Sandy
• Pam (You're here!!)

Happy Hopping!!

Pam