The Craftiest Workshop

Materials List

• Chalk Couture Stencil “May the Road Rise to Meet You”
• Wood burner, chalk paste or paint
• Two wide pallet boards cut to 1 ft lengths
• thin plywood for backing
• thin wood for frame (optional)
• band saw or handsaw
• orbital or mouse sander
• brad nailer or hammer and nails

I recently was asked by my cousin’s cousin if I would be interested in joining the Chalk Couture business. It is a sort of Multi level Marketing thing. Basically the product is stencils (transfers) made of vinyl, chalk paste for filling in the stencils and background pieces like chalkboards and small wood signs. I looked at it but realized that you have to earn so many points each quarter and it would end up costing quite a bit. As an alternative to selling the products, I was able to join the transfer of the month club. I receive one 8X10 transfer in the mail and two packets of chalk paste.

My first transfer to arrive was a full transfer. By that I mean the whole 8X10 transfer made one project. It was the first line of an Irish Blessing with some leaves all around it.

I find it amazing how just reading a line of a poem or song can bring back a flood of memories. When I sang in a women’s choir in Russell ON, we did a version of this “hymn”. I also learned a different version with my church choir in the last year. As soon as I read the line, I immediately had to sing the tune. I find that I do that often…sing something if a phrase someone says makes me think of a song.

I was reminded of a bookmark that I use quite often. It was given to my by a choir friend back in Russell the year we had sung the hymn. The bookmark says 2009 so we must have sung it in our spring session as our family moved that year in July.

I was quite excited to make a project with the transfer. I looked for the right size of wood to use. It turned out that two wider pallet boards cut to one foot lengths were perfect, leaving a nice edge all the way around. I gave one side of each board a quick sanding with the mouse sander.

I removed the transfer from the plastic backing…it is kind of like peeling up a window transfer. I was told to lay it on a towel before the first use or it might stick too much to the wood. I did that and then placed it on the wood. I used a pencil to fill in all the holes of the transfer. Next time I think I would use a large construction pencil so this part would go quicker. As you can see, the pencil does not clean off great but I think it will be fine if I decide to try the chalk paste later. Most likely I will use it again with pencil and my wood burner.

I removed the transfer and started to burn all the penciled areas. I had decided not to put the pallet boards together until after. Not the best choice to make to ensure things are lined up but it is easier to burn between the boards. After I finished burning I glued the two boards together. Once they were dried, I flipped them over and glued on two pieces of thin plywood. I used the brad nailer to secure them. As you can see, I leave the back very rough while the front side is sanded down.

I felt the project was missing something. My hubby had cut off the part that fits in the grooves on our maple hardwood flooring pieces. They are about 1/4 inch wide.

I measured the pallets and then used the band saw to cut four pieces. I used the mitre box to cut 45 degree ends so I could join the boards in the corner.

As long as I held the piece down, I was able to use the brad nailer to secure them. One side of one pallet board was sloped so I glued the two corners so they were even.

Here is the finished project. I really enjoyed making this one.