Simple designs drawn on the window in fantastic Chalkola chalk markers that just wipe away in the new year.

I was lucky enough to receive some Chalk Marker pens from ChalkOla in exchange for a review. 

I have loved trying these Chalkola Chalk Markers out. They are so simple to use, smooth to write or doodle with and the colours are way more vibrant that I was expecting. They contain a high density chalk ink and i

t takes a couple of minutes to get them going when they are brand new. You pump the nib down a few times (like you would for any paint marker) and the nib gradually fills with colour - then you are ready to go. After that the ink flows pretty constantly even vertically like I was using them. If the ink flow slowed a little I just gave them a shake, depressed the nib again then it flowed freely again.

I've tried a few idea out with them so far, the first is a Christmassy wreath and greeting on the doors to our back garden.

That IS glass, it's just evening. Here it gets dark pretty early (about 4pm) this time of year so most crafting has to happen in the dark!

Start by drawing round a side plate with a white chalk pen.

Then add a very simple sets of leaves and then twiggy lines to make a wreath design.

Add a few dots with a red Chalk Marker pen for just a little touch of colour. You could do your wreath in green if you prefer, the sets from ChalkOla have loads of colours to choose from.

This next bit I did a bit earlier the next day so daylight - yay! This is what I had so far.

Next print your chosen greeting onto regular printer paper. I used a font called Bromello which I downloaded from DaFont. You might need a little trial and error before it is the right size for your wreath, I got lucky with mine. Or you could be super organised a measure everything properly first.

Blue Tack the greeting to the glass outside lining it up centrally.

Now you just need to trace over the words with your Chalk Marker pen. I found I needed one eye shut to do this, I'm not sure why, it just made it easier!

It looks like I was a bit off with the tracing, but remember the camera is off the the side so it's a bit of a weird angle.

Next just thicken up the down strokes next to give them a little more of a modern calligraphy look.

The white pen shows best where there are no curtains or binds as once it's dark the design really shows beautifully. I'm going to try the other brighter colours on our front windows, where we have shutters, if I get time before Christmas.

In the daytime, with gorgeous dull grey UK skies the effect is more subtle but still pretty festive.

I've had SO much fun playing with these pens already and have more ideas to share with you using them. Photographing anything on glass is a challenge though! Hopefully you get a good idea of the fun and vibrant effect you can get with these pens. And as long as you use them on a non porous surface they just wipe away easily when you've had enough of them.

Update 7th Jan 2017

Just to reassure everyone that they really do just wipe away here is a quick photo from last night when I finally cleaned off our window wreaths using a damp cloth.

These are the other fun projects I’ve tried with wipeable marker pens

You can find the full range of ChalkOla pens on Amazon here.

Update 2021:

This year I didn’t have my chalk markers (I’d just lent them to someone last year; they last for years so they still worked) so I tried using wipe board markers. It does work but the colours are just not so bright. Wipe board markers are translucent so they don’t give the bold effect of the chalk markers, but the results were ok, better than nothing.

What I drew this year was a slightly different variation of previous years, still just as simple to do.

I’m definitely going back to the Chalk Markers next year though, the vibrant colours are much nicer.

I'll be linking up at these great link parties