Tools Guide: How to Create Chalkboard Printables Using Picmonkey

Thursday, November 5, 2015

How to Create Chalkboard Printables Using Picmonkey

Chalkboard are all the rage now days thanks to Pinterest.

I am no exception to the craze, illustrated by the fact that I have a whole Pinterest board devoted to "Everything Chalkboard."

The number one thing that people have asked me to do a tutorial on is how to create chalkboard printables. This tutorial has been a long time in coming, but it's finally here! Rather than showing how to make one in photoshop (which is my personal method) I want to show you a super "user friendly" and completely free (no expensive software needed!) way that anyone can create their own digital chalkboard using Picmonkey.

If you need a chalkboard background you can use my free download HERE.

If you need free Graphics/Overlays to use on your chalkboard, I have tons of freebies in my Graphics section, found HERE.

First you will need a "blank canvas" to create your printable on. To use the same chalkboard background I use, see the link above this photo. You can crop it down to any size you want.

Click on the "butterfly icon" which will bring you to "Overlays." You can always use the graphics Picmonkey offers, but if you want to use third party graphics in your creation, click "Your Own." You will then be prompted to click on the folder where you have your graphics saved. Select the individual graphic you want to upload from that folder, and it will be added to your image on Picmonkey.

Now that your graphic is on your image, you can re-size it by moving the circles on the corner of the graphic up or down. Or you can tilt it by rotating the circle in the middle of the square's top.

The graphics color can be changed by moving the small circle over the range of colors in the box.

At this point, you can add other graphics to your printable. If you want to duplicate a graphic (and have it maintain the same size & color), right click and choose "duplicate overlay."

Now that your graphic has been duplicated you can flip it by clicking the "sideways arrows" to flip it horizontally, and the "up and down arrows" to flip it vertically.

To tilt the Graphic, turn the circle on the top of the box.

Add text to your image by clicking on the "text" icon and click "add text." You personalize it by choosing the specific color & font you want.

Update: If you want to use your own super cool fonts, just click "YOURS" and it will automatically load your personal fonts into their system Pretty awesome, right?

When you are finished, click SAVE & you are done!

There are several limitations to this method, mainly that you can't warp your text & curve it (like in the finished product below, which was created in Photoshop)

But overall, this is a great process (and it's FREE! :)