Review of Chalkola pens, liquid chalk markers for non-porous surfaces, great for upcycling or crafts - Bubbablue and me
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Getting arty with Chalkola chalk pens – review and giveaway

ByEmma

There’s something special about stationery, and in particular I love pens.  N has inherited this love because any new pens that I bring into the house, and he’s nosying trying to use them.  With the Chalkola chalk pens I was sent to review, I knew I’d struggle to keep him away.

Review of Chalkola pens, liquid chalk markers for non-porous surfaces, great for upcycling or crafts - Bubbablue and me

Chalkola are fairly chunky chalk markers which have ink that looks like chalk. They can be used on any non-porous material, including glass, metal, porcelain and more.  The variety of colours is great –brights, pretty pastels and more earthy tones packs like I was sent.  The packs we were sent were the pack of 8 earthy tones and the pack of 10 premium neon liquid chalk pens.

Chalkola chalk pens

I was a little worried at wondering what we could draw on.  The OH would go nuts if he saw windows being drawn on (‘it’s encouraging children to draw on them with anything’) so I dug out some white egg cups so we could get arty.

Before we started we had to prep the pens. You only need to do it once to get the ink flowing – just shake, shake, shake for around 30 seconds, then press the nibs down several times until the ink comes out.  Once you’ve done that the pens are easy to use – there’s no need to press down on them, whether on the pen itself or the nib.  So they’re really easy to use for children as well as adults.

The bonus with them is that they’re wipe clean, just with baby wipes or similar.  We found the best way was to wipe until the surface was clean with a couple of wipes (or several more given the amount of drawing we did), then dry off with kitchen towel before starting again.

creative with chalkola chalk pens

The egg cups are really cute but small so I wondered how N would find them with chunky pens. But he had no problem. Being a boy, he started daintily, then went for the scribbling lots of colour option.  Including a lot of ink inside which was probably never going to dry!  He didn’t get too much on his fingers, but it easily wiped off again.  The egg cups dried pretty quickly.  I went for a small flower design which looks lovely, and the only sign that it’s not printed on is the slight bumpiness of the colour.  Obviously as they’re not water tight, washing will remove the design, but it does mean that while we’re waiting for eggs to boil we could redesign each time!

We also got out N’s blackboard table before we sold it (I’m thinking we’re not going to be able to now).  I was planning to go mad doodling all over it and we spent a really nice afternoon doing exactly that.  Doodling, drawing pictures, writing names in different fonts, a bit of graffiti style, following up with a few games of noughts and crosses (which N has now become obsessed with.  I even suggested he could practice his spellings with them which went down well – although he then got distracted and didn’t complete them!

chalkboard doodling with chalk markers

noughts and crosses on chalkboard

neon bubble writing with chalkola

doodling and pictures with chalkola

The pens are a really nice feel. They’re comfortable to use, the ink flows well without clumping and you can control the flow by making thicker lines if you press slightly harder down. I did find that N’s pictures took more effort to remove than mine – I think because he was pressing down harder compared to me. But they did come off with a bit of pressure.

The colours are great – we had some pastel colours, some neon and the earthier tones pack.  Perfect for more muted toned designs or bright and breezy for the kids.

chalkola art work

I’m now planning on looking out other surfaces that might work – tiles to make coasters could be next on the list.  And with those, once dry, you can varnish a top layer to make them water tight.

If you want to try them out you can buy Chalkola at Amazon (*affiliate link)

I’m also running a giveaway to win one pack of Chalkola pens.  Just answer the question – what is your favourite art or craft activity to do and why in the comments below (no need to fill in the url box), complete the rafflecopter widget and any of the bonus entry options if wanted.  Good luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions

1 UK entry only
2. Giveaway closes 11.59pm  5th March 2017
3. Entries will be validated according to the rules of entry
4. There is 1 prize of a pack of 21 Chalkola markers
5. The data of anyone that enters won’t be passed on to any third parties or used for any unsolicited marketing communications.
6. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook or any other social media.
7. Winner will be randomly chosen, and will be shown on this post, with further notifications  may be shared on social media.
8. Winner will be notified via email, and will need to respond with their postal address within 3 weeks otherwise a further winner will be drawn.
9. Prize will be sent out within 30 days of receiving postal details via the supplier.
10. This giveaway may be featured on Loquax, Prizefinder and Superlucky

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Disclosure: We were sent some Chalkola pens for the purpose of review. All words and opinions are our own.

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234 Comments

  7. I love to colour as it helps with my anxiety and depression and is relaxing distraction

  13. I would like to try needle felting as a way to use the fur from my long-haired cat. My husband brushes her every night and gets handfuls of fur, it would be nice to make something from it as it’s incredibly soft.

  15. I really enjoy card making, as I think people enjoy receiving a homemade card.

  19. I enjoy sketching and have just started using charcoal which is also fun and relaxing

  27. I love doing junk modelling with my son, he has such imagination and enthusiasm!

  28. I’d love to try crochet 🙂 because I have a few friends that do it and I have really admired some of the things they’ve made and would love to be able to do so myself!

  29. I like card making because it means more when you give a hand made card rather than a shop bought one. It is also something you can involve the kids with.

  32. At present my boys love stencilling. It seems to really improve their writing, number recognition etc too.

  38. I like needle felting because it’s something I can do sitting in front of the telly and is quite therapeutic as long as I don’t stab myself with the barbed needle. I love how a piece of wool can become something quite different just by sculpting it with a needle.

  40. I love doing card making with my daughter, think it’s lovely to give someone a card which has been made with love <3

  41. I like lots of crafts, depending on what mood I’m in and how much time I have. I’m enjoying knitting most at the moment as I’m just exploring circular knitting.

  43. I love to do baking, but I try to make things up out of ingredients that I have

  44. I like paper crafts, but am thinking of learning to crochet. My kids spend hours drawing and colouring.

  53. I’d love to learn how to knit or crochet like my mum used to do. Kids love anything to do with gluing or painting!

  54. We love all things messy when it comes to crafts! The more fun the better!

  58. We like to make cards for family and put lots of lovely glittery things on it

  61. i like paint a pot, it is so personal and lasts forever 🙂 i do like the idea of these pens though, having the chance to have a new design each time is great

  73. We love collecting shells from the beach and sticking them on card to make a picture. It gets the kids out in the fresh air and gets them being creative

  74. I enjoy all sorts of arts and crafts but my latest favourite is wood burning because you can make such pretty things

  78. I like baking birthday cakes for my girls. I’m not great at it but they love them! Love seeing their surprised faces x

  89. i love baking, card making, knitting and cross stitch, unfortunately the only one i’m good at is cross stitch

  90. I love craft and diy, although not much good at it, but I’ll keep trying because the kids absolutely love to get sticky and messy

  92. My daughter and I love to make zombies out of scraps of felt,
    Let our imaginations run wild.

  94. I love making things with the kids. Although they make an horrendous mess, we all enjoy it. Quality family time

  95. I love making cards because I find personal individual cards are so much nicer than shop bought ones.

  97. As a person who loves crafts but has very little creativity it’s difficult aha, I love painting, card making and calligraphy, I’d say these would be perfect for the latter!

  100. I find card making very therapeutic. Fab giveaway. Would love to be your lucky winner. Fingers x

  122. Anything involving pens!! Like you , I am a stationary fiend!!! Today we have been having fun with sharpies and cardboard! These pens look awesome!

  128. My son loves making junk monsters from the recycling. We use paper mache and paints and glue and anything else he can get his hands on!

  129. My son loves making cards, the ones in the shop never have what his friends like on them (apparently) so he likes to make his own! 🙂

  136. I love all forms of papercraft – stamping, decoupage, encaustic painting and much more. I make greetings cards to be sold for charity, and find it very relaxing and creative.

  144. I love cross stitching. It’s so relaxing and you get something pretty to hang on your walls at the end.

  147. I am a little bit of a crafter, I enjoy making jewellery, drawing/designing, felting and building little bits for around my home 🙂

  159. I love cross stitching because I find it relaxing and love to see my end result. But with my children we love glueing and sticking best, because they love to find unusual items to use to make something

  163. I sew and knit. I especially enjoy making sewn kids clothes which I donate to charity, to go to Romania.

  164. I love crochet but when i do art with my nephew we particularly like gluing and sticking with lots of sequins and glitter!

  165. I love card making. Can be as creative as I like and personalise it to the person I am sending. Everyone loves a homemade card

  167. I love papercrafts – just pieces of paper can make so many wonderful things! Love these chalk pens too, I can’t wait to try them out with my grand-daughter!

  169. We enjoying making things from old boys and bobs ie sock monkeys and making our own cards

  175. I love painting acrylics but havn’t done any for ages! I love cutting and sticking with the kids- simple but effective

  176. I enjoy colouring because it is very relaxing and I can produce lovely pictures with little talent!

  177. I really enjoying knitting and crocheting. It’s something I learnt as a child and it relaxes me

  179. My two year old daughter loves the magic of painting spots on paper and folding it in half to create a butterfly!

  184. I love to make and build things from old egg boxes and cardboard – I think this can really help with creativity!

  187. We enjoy making things from scratch – we made an oyster shell this weekend from cardboard and paper mache! messy, but fun! we like it because we all get involved and its nice to see what we can make

  194. I love card making and all sorts of crafts, especially making toys and treats for my animals.

  196. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Crafts so it is hard to choose… sewing, cardmaking, decopage. My daughter loves it too she would love these markers

  197. Pingback: Ending March 5th – Love Competitions

  204. I’ve just discovered adult colouring books and I simply adore doing this in my free time

  209. I love knitting and making sweaters and blankets for myself and the family.Nice that you can choose your own colours too.

  216. My eldest son likes to do lots of drawing, whereas my younger son likes making things with lego. I am more for the latter but my “other half” is more into the former. Why? They just take time up with enjoying what you like to do.

  217. I love to make my own cards makes it much more personal knowing that person you can fit it around there character

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