How to Make a Basic Chalkboard Sign

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   Become a subscriber at Fonts Café – download the free chalkboard fonts and the chalkboard backgrounds.

o  Chalk Hand Lettering Shaded Font

o  Handwriting Draft Font (doesn’t look chalkboard)

o  Free Chalkboard Textures Pack 04

·      Open PhotoShop Elements

o  Create a new thingy (CANVAS?) with dimensions of 24x36 or less. Whatever the right size is though! It is the easiest to make the canvas the same size as your final product.

o  In the photo bin, open the chalkboard background (hunt and search high and low to find where it downloaded…). You could try different backgrounds – the set includes 10 backgrounds. I picked #4 and just stretched and moved the chalkiest parts off the board.

o  Open the canvas and drag the chalkboard background onto the canvas.

o  Resize the chalkboard background (Image>resize>24x36 or whatever the size of your frame). Clip to the background layer.

o  Create a text box for each word or phrase. Change the font to whatever you choose & the color to white. Before finalizing the box, shrink the handles closer to the size of the writing. Even if the font is the same for every single item, individual text boxes make it much easier to manipulate the words.

o  Move and rearrange and resize to make everything fit nicely together.

·      Save the image – flatten it to make everything go together?

·      Export to USB drive. Save with a 00thingy or whatever so the file is at the top of the list.

·      Take USB drive to Staples. Be nice to the guy. If he doesn’t like you, you’re in trouble.  Ask for an engineering print. You can have 24x36 or gigantic 32x48.

·      Spray mount to a background – I used a 20x30 piece of black foam core but I have also done something on a thin wooden box frame. If you are crazy, modge podge over the top. Be warned that it will buckle and warp and wrinkle and you might cry or curse!!! (See my March 2013 blog post for more information about the finishing/modge podge process.)

I I am obviously not a Photoshop whiz although I did manage to do this in just a few hours. I just wanted to get the basic process down before I forget.