My Sexy New Bulletin Board

Something about this weather makes me want to be really crafty. Maybe it's the fact that all I can do is sit inside. Usually I take this time to catch up on knitting, but yesterday I had a different craft in mind.

Reading all these blogs about decorating and being crafty has got my crafty juices flowing again. I didn't realized how stifling apartment living was. I used to be really crafty and make things all the time. Then Ben and I got married and it kind of stopped. Then we had kids and it REALLY stopped. But now the bug has bitten again. This is a picture of my bulletin board. Or it was, until about 3:00 yesterday.

Pretty boring, eh? Wanna see what it looks like now?

Pretty darn sexy, don't you think? I am SO happy with it. I keep walking into the office and thinking how nice it looks. Wanna know how I did it? Well you'll just have to keep reading, my darlings.

Take a bulletin board and make sure it's naked. We're going to be painting this so I suggest putting down some sort of workspace protector. Newspaper, old sheets, whatever. I have a big roll of paper that we got from our local newspaper "plant". My mom got it years ago and all you have to do is walk in the front and ask for the remnants of the giant rolls. Got it for free and it's still around. Works great for all kinds of things. But anywaaaays...

You'll need some sort of paint in whatever color you like. I just have the cheap craft stuff. You'll also need a canvas and ribbon.

Paint the edges. It doesn't have to be perfect since the cork board will be covered.

 

Once it's dry, lay it over the canvas it to use as a template. I had Ben pick up a bit 6' x 9' drop cloth at Home Depot the other day for $10. I plan on making/recovering some pillows with the rest of it. It's alright if the canvas is took big for the board. It's going to get folded over, or you can trim off some if there's really too much. Iron the canvas to get out the wrinkles.

This... This is my new toy I was talking about earlier. I am SO excited to have this. I can do so much with it. Like this!

Fold over a bit of the edge of the canvas as if you were going to hem it, then staple it in place. Do this all the way around, pulling tight and trimming if you need to (like in corners).

Then take the ribbon and, using glue (preferably of the hot variety, but all I had was white. Stop laughing at me.) stick the ribbon all the way around over the staples. This will give a very finished and clean look. 

Hang on the wall and admire your new creation!