Working in a bookshop means that we are always creating displays for different occasions. We had the smart idea last year to create some chalkboards around the store so I could use quotes and pictures to tell customers about events or things we loved.

I tend to share my images over on Twitter and Instagram, so when Chalkola got in touch with me to ask if I wanted to try their range of chalk pens I couldn't wait as quite frankly, the ones I've got in the past haven't been too inspiring colour wise!



The first thing that I was impressed with was the selection of colours. I was sent the pack of 10 neon Chalkola pens and the pack of 8 Earth coloured Chalkola pens. I can honestly say I've never seen such a gorgeous range of colours for pens. For the past year I've been using red, yellow, blue and white which frankly holds me back a bit with designs.

Before I got started I used an old painting that was found in a charity shop and spray painted the frame gold. I gave the canvas a cover of blackboard paint and let it set overnight. I wanted to create a Valentine's chalk board using a book quote, so I found the perfect one from Winnie The Pooh and planned out what I wanted it to look like.

I love to mix up the fonts of quotes using my normal handwriting and cursive brush lettering styles. One thing I noticed about the pens was how vibrant they were when writing. With other pens you normally have to go over them but these wrote like a dream.


Whilst the quote might have been the simplest to create, I think it looks lovely and I couldn't wait to try something a bit more creative. I feel like the Chalkola pens have given our store's displays the colour that they well and truly needed to bring some fun to store. I can't wait to see what else I can do with them next (I have a spring window drawing planned!)