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What do you use to "set" chalk? Everything I've read with instructions about chalk always finish with "Set chalk" but doesn't ever say how you do that or what you use. I know chalk is probably old school, but a friend of mine who hasn't scrapped in a while gave me a ton of stuff and in there were these beautiful chalks. I love playing with them and have read all kinds of instructions in magazines, books, and online. But none of them ever explain the "setting" part. Do any of you have any information? (Also, GinaK has a couple of great tutorials on StampTv using chalk, so I was super excited to get these chalks in my pile of goodies so I can try her techniques!)
Thanks in advance for your help!
__________________ Tish, a/k/a GaMtnScrap Be who you are. Those that matter don't mind, and those that mind don't matter.
I don't use any fixative. I lay a piece of blank printer paper over the image and then rub with a clean brayer. This "sets" the chalk, though you can still erase it with a chalk eraser.
I love playing with them and have read all kinds of instructions in magazines, books, and online.
Would you be willing to share some of these ideas? I have lots of chalks and I'm always looking for ways to use my older stuff. I would be ever so grateful.
As for setting I use a sealer I bought at Walmart. It's kinda smelly so you have to give it time to dry and air out. So I might try the brayer idea...never thought about the hair spray. Is that a tried and true technique?
I use a clean sheet of copy paper (or the back of a recycled piece ... as long as there is no printing on the side I'm using it's fine) and rub it over the chalked piece (sometimes using a brayer or bone folder but most often just my hands). (ETA: KathiR does this too, I see froma few posts above this one.)
I also tend to "layer" colors of chalks and that seems, in an unexplained way, to set it but I still rub clean paper over the finished project. I try to avoid using any spray because my live-in FIL is sensitive to smells.
Hope this helps and may each day have time for ...
If the card is going to handled very little or if it is a scrapbook page that will be in a page protector, I don't bother setting it. If it is will be handled, like an ornament or a card sample for a work shop, I use a clear Krylon sealer.
Mary Beth
Museum background here--I would NOT recommend using chalks in your scrapbooks or anything you want to keep for a long time. Chalk itself is gritty which can affect memorabilia and photos. In addition, fixatives have chemicals that can be damaging. Use it for cardmaking and such, but please, NOT for scrapbooking.
Clean white tissue paper (not kleenex) and the back of a kitchen spoon to burnish is great to get up all the loose chalk dust.
No, it will not smear the chalked image if you carefully hold the tissue paper with one hand and burnish with the spoon in the other hand. The trick is to not slide the tissue paper around as you burnish. Pick up the tissue paper and move it to a clean spot to burnish till no more chalk dust is on the tissue paper.
Museum background here--I would NOT recommend using chalks in your scrapbooks or anything you want to keep for a long time. Chalk itself is gritty which can affect memorabilia and photos. In addition, fixatives have chemicals that can be damaging. Use it for cardmaking and such, but please, NOT for scrapbooking.
Thanks for this! I didn't know this about the chalks. I feel very strongly about using archival materials in scrapbooks, but there is so little information (that I know about anyway). I'd love any more tips you have!
YEP Look on the very bottom shelf at the store-it certainly up at eye level with the fancier/pricer stuff that you might actually want to use on your hair. ;)
Instead of the clean paper or tissue paper I use waxed paper. I place it down and carefully go over the chalked area with a bone folder. Seems to "seal" the chalk in and I've never had any problems with this method.
Setting chalk?
