Thoughts from the Edge: Crafty Monday: Bulletin Board Redux

Sometimes I surprise myself. I have endless ideas, but sometimes I lack skills. All I can say is lately I have been surprising myself.

L is on spring break and she wanted to go to Micheal's and get craft supplies. So we went. I had woken up with an idea and having seen various versions on HGTV and other crafty blogs, I decided there was nothing stopping me. It was well within my skill set and I had almost everything I needed to make it happen.

H and I are remodeling the laundry room. Slowly. In preparation for this large project, I emptied the room of nearly all of its contents including this old bulletin board.

My mother recovered it with burlap a long time ago. I love the frame, it is a nice wood and while I never used it as much of a bulletin board, I had some decorative push pins it in and it was something on the laundry room wall, I never used it much for notes or calendars or anything.

I bought a while back, you guessed it a remnant of fabric, which I adore and which happens to fit the color scheme of my office. The office/craft space is pumpkin orange and I have managed to find some hot pink, lime green and orange pieces here and there. It is sunny and inviting. H hates the color, it has totally grown on me and I am embracing it. I decided today, to re-purpose the displaced bulletin board.

My process:

Measure the board carefully. I had already decided to use ribbon as a boarder, to hide any uneven cutting. Also, the fabric I selected is t-shirt material and that can be difficult to work with.

Then I laid the fabric out and used push pins to hold it in place, just to get an idea of the pattern and how best to cut the fabric.

Then I cut the fabric on my rotary cutting mat, being very careful, this material snags and pulls so easily. Then I took the entire mess and a can of spray adhesive to the garage. No reason to coat the carpet or asphyxiate myself.

I have never used spray adhesive, but I have to say it was easy as could be. I did a test spray and then, carefully and evenly sprayed the bulletin board. The burlap darkened as I applied the adhesive, so it was easy to tell if I had gotten enough on the surface. Then working from my start corner, I gently pressed the fabric into place and pulled it taunt. Making sure to smooth out any bubbles.

For whatever reason, the fabric which was cut just to size grew when I secured it down with the spray adhesive. So I was back into the house to trim and finish up the project.

Some simple trimming was all it took. To attach the ribbon, I decided to use my hot glue gun. The question of the day, where is my hot glue gun? I took a trip to the dreaded basement and after only a few moments of searching, I found it in a box H had labeled "Adhesives and Stuff." (After nearly 15 years of cohabitation, I feel like I am finally starting to understand his powers of organization.)

Working carefully, I applied the ribbon, which matches just perfectly. (I so did not think to take the fabric with me on our trip to Micheal's. That would have been too organized. So I wung it and I have to say I hit this one out of the park.)

Since the hot glue was around and hot, I decided as an extra embellishment, I would attach some coordinating buttons to some push pins. Just to finish off the project and tie it all together.

The final project looks great. I plan to hang it on the wall, more as art than a bulletin board. I think all in the project cost less than $10. I have some material left over, so maybe I will create something else.