Even if you aren’t a skilled artist, creating beautiful and trendy chalkboard signs  can be achieved with these 5 tips and tricks from the pros.

• Use a Level and a ruler for straight lines and even spacing

• Pick your tool – mechanical chalk pencil, chalk pencil (intended for marking fabric when sewing), chalk marker or real chalk.

Four types of chalk as illustrated byJones Design Company. From top to bottom:mechanical chalk pencil, chalkpencil by Fons and Porter,chalk marker, and good, old fashion chalk

• A damp cloth and a handful of Q-Tips can work wonders when it comes to correcting mistakes and cleaning up smudges. 

• DIY stencils – If you plan to use an image more than once (your logo or a chocolate truffle with a swirl) make your own stencil with vellum paper. You can easily trace any printed image by placing vellum over the print. 

Depending on your skill level, creating artful chalkboards can take lots of patience and practice. If you don’t have time for either of these, try this quick and easy chalkboard hack from Buzzfeed.

Not a member? Learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business at retailconfections.org/join.

Tags:  Creativity  Displays  Events  Hacks  Ideas  Marketing  Merchandising  Owning a Business  Trends  Tutorial