Looking for some creative uses for all of that colored chalk you've gathered over the years? We've found sooooo many creative uses for chalk, so we thought we'd share some with you.
First off, know that you or your child (or even your dog) might return inside looking like this. But it's washable, so it's all good!
A Note About Storage and Brands
We have quite a chalk collection to make our creations. It wasn't hard to gather so much, since it's not too expensive. You can buy it really cheap on clearance at the end of the summer! You can also check out some of my links below for good deals on chalk. We keep our chalk in a large bucket so we can carry and dump it when needed. We prefer Crayola sidewalk chalk, hands-down! We've tried so many other brands but Crayola is the absolute best and brightest. The latest version of their sidewalk chalk is even shaped like a hockey puck, which makes it much easier to draw in large spaces!
The Jersey Momma's Boy started simple enough- he liked color and lines, and drawing both around you if you happened to be sitting down, like Mr. Jersey Momma here:
He eventually expanded to the whole driveway:
He liked using Crayola's chalk tools, too, like the brushes. He made his own blurred lines.
Sometimes the lines would go down the driveway, too:
And then there were pipes, filled with chalk 'water:'
Our sweet Milo liked to sit with us when he was still alive. His white fur would turn rainbow colored if he happened to sit on a creation:
2. Larger Than Life Drawings
Then the chalk drawings got larger. And I mean really large. Like this life-size rainbow:
Or all nine planets across our whole driveway:
Sometimes we copied what we saw in our every day life. This was our Halloween decor:
3. Use a Wet Canvas
Our friend Cher suggested we try chalk drawing on a wet surface. So we tried it in the rain:
And hosing down our driveway canvas when it was sunny outside:
4. Make an Exercise Course
We created an exercise course for the neighborhood kids on our sidewalk. Each square of the sidewalk featured a different exercise, such as:
-jump 5 times
-do 3 jumping jacks
-spin around
-climb a ladder
-strike a pose
-wave your arms
-jump over the lava
-freeze for three seconds
You get the idea! It was a huge hit- even the adults walking by liked th try it!
5. Color the Cracks
Sometimes we used our chalk for games or projects. We traced all of the cracks in the driveway to make what we called, 'jewels:' You can also color brick walkways or pavers each individually. The end result is awesome!
6. Target Practice
And then we played a target game with the seed pods that fell from the trees. It was really fun because the pods smashed like mushy tomatoes when we threw them (they're actually kousa fruits from our Kousa Dogwood tree).
7. Create a Town for Your Bike
Now this was painstaking on my end, but well worth the effort- I often made chalk roads or chalk towns for the Jersey Momma's Boy to ride through on his bike. Some of them were pretty elaborate, with shops, gas stations, houses and parks. If it hurts for you to bend over this long, try using the Walkie Chalk, which is a device that you can use to make chalk drawings while standing up!
8. Use Chalk Tools
Sometimes we used tools. One of our favorites was chalk stencils.
Or the rainbow rake:
The rainbow rake is hard to find these days. There is a toddler variation of it here.
We even tried a Mandala stencil from Alex Toys.
And once we even made our own sidewalk chalk paint. Stay tuned for the recipe!
9. Use Nature as a Canvas
And at times we moved way beyond the driveway and the sidewalk. Like the trees:
Don't worry, it's non-toxic and washes off the tree really easily!
And the leaves on the deck (this was all the Jersey Momma's Boy's idea):
And then I got a little silly and decided to make some familiar faces on our log pile. I spy Angry Birds!
10. Adults Can Have Fun, Too!
The rest are my creations. I liked sitting on the driveway myself, on our favorite little quilt, drawing away. Here's a silly rainbow:
And a 'thank you' that the Jersey Momma's Boy posed next to for a picture. We used the photo to make cards at Shutterfly. They were a big hit after his birthday party, when we sent them to guests.
Let's not forget St. Patrick's Day...
Or Thanksgiving...
Or my favorite Chalk Garden, which eventually became The Jersey Momma logo!
11. Bonus: Chalk-Inspired Projects
There are also some creative art projects you can make using colored chalk, like our DIY Chalk Sand Art. Check out my tutorial here.
So you see, you can do a lot of things with chalk, in any season. You just have to think outside the box!
I love this. How incredibly creative.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful story of chalk, kids, adults, and wherever all mentioned went. Great pictures too. Good job with the pictorial journey into fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joyce and Alicia!
ReplyDeleteWow, amazing pictures! I need a bigger driveway =)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Melissa! <3
DeleteWOW! Such creativity!
ReplyDeleteHi! Stopping by from Mom Bloggers Club. Great blog!
Have a nice day!
Thank you, Veronica! And thanks for visiting!
DeleteAmazing! Your son is very creative.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rebecca! He definitely has an artsy mind!
DeleteThis is super cool. Especially if it doesn't rain for a few days. Masterpiece.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Val! And sometimes it rains and the chalk stays- depends on how dark the little man is coloring at the time! lol
DeleteGreat ideas. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you on Monday at 7, we can't wait to party with you! Lou Lou Girls
ReplyDeleteSooo many uses for chalk. My 3 year old was sitting next to me while I was reading this, asking "Mommy, is that a rainbow, look those are the birds" LOL Thanks for all the great suggestions. <3
ReplyDeleteAw that makes me so happy!! Thanks, Kimberly!
DeleteYour family is so creative! I used to spend hours doing this is as a kid.
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks! Me, too, it was one of our favorite things to do as kids. But we didn't have all of these cool color choices!!
DeleteI love the log pile ones! And what a beautiful rainbow! That is definitely hours worth of creativity! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, T! I appreciate it!
DeleteLove the stencil! My kids always end up with rainbow bottoms too!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Krystal! The rainbow bottoms (and hands and pants and everything!) are great!
DeleteSo many great ideas! I wish we had a driveway that big for chalk drawing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Stefanie! It's like a giant canvas! lol
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