I have always been intrigued by chalks in scrapbooking, they seemed like a cool tool to have. I finally got some as a gift this past Christmas (yes, way after everyone else) but then I didn’t know what to do with them! I recently came across this idea in an idea book and decided to try it. I was very pleased with the results.

Materials and Supplies

Sturdy white cardstock
Chalks and applicator tool
Spritz bottle filled with water

Directions 1.Apply two or more colors of chalk to cardstock with applicator. I used blue and purple. If you are using chalks that can be removed from their container you can also rub the chalk directly over the cardstock.

2.Spritz until cardstock is entirely covered with water and the colors run.

3.Using your fingers make circles, swirls, squiggles or straight lines on the wet chalk.

4.Allow cardstock to dry and voila! A neat background finish.

Tip: I sped up the drying process by using my heat gun. If the paper warps while drying this way you can always flatten it by placing between heavy books, or by ironing flat.

I then used the finger painted cardstock as the background on this card.

Here is another project using squares made with this method, in this case I used yellow and orange chalk for the finger painting.

This is a really simple way to create your own custom backgrounds with flair!

See more of Fran's work in our gallery.