Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Memo Board Tutorial

My daughter needed a memo board for near her desk.  She loves the memo boards she sees in Pottery Barn Teen.  However, those memo boards are $79 plus shipping.
Image from Pottery Barn Teen

But I knew I could recreate that same look.  I started out with a painters canvas from Michaels.  I also bought a roll of cork.


As it turned out, the cork had an adhesive backing.  Otherwise my plan had been to use a spray adhesive.  This was even easier.

The canvas I chose was 18" x 24".  I didn't want something too big.  Just a nice spot for whatever she wants to pin up on the board.
I started by removing the backing and attaching the cork to the canvas.


Using my utility knife, I cut the edge of the cork to the exact size of the canvas.


I laid the canvas upside down on the wrong side of the fabric.

I cut the fabric leaving approximately 3-4" on all sides.
Using my staple gun, I stapled the fabric to the wood frame on the canvas.

I folded the edges like I would if I were wrapping a gift.

I did this on all four sides.  I stapled every 4-5".
It looked a little too plain so I went into my stash of ribbon and got a roll of pink grosgrain ribbon and stapled it to the top back corner.
I wrapped it around the front and stapled to the back of the other side.  I did this on all four sides.

Here is the finished product.
Here it is hanging in her room.  I hung it below the wall art I created.  You can check out how I did that here.  The flowers and the birds are vinyl decals I got at Home Goods.

It's the perfect spot for her to pin some of her favorite things.  Here's how the cost broke down:
1/2 yard fabric - $3 at JoAnn's
Canvas - $7 at Michaels
Cork - $8 (although I only used half - I should only be charged with $4 for this project:) )
Ribbon - I had that already
Total cost - Under $20.
Such an easy project.  Hope you try it.  Let me know what you think.  I always love and appreciate your comments.

-Judy

Check out this party:


12 comments:

  1. Looks perfect for her room and so easy to do. Love the fabric and the pink trim. Gorgeous. Hugs, Marty

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  2. So pretty! Isn't it amazing what you can do with a little ingenuity?

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  3. What a great idea! It looks so cute up on the wall in the room! Thanks for following along at Follow Me Wednesday! I'm following you back!

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  4. You did good!! I'm learning so much in blog world. I didn't know you could buy a roll of cork!

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  5. Judy that is waaayyy cuter than the Pottery Barn one! I love it as part of that arrangement on the wall with the darling decals. Her room is looking so great and I can't wait to get the full tour!
    Vanessa

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  6. Love the fabric you chose for this, Judy! I can't believe PB wants $79.00! Almost as bad as what Ballard's wants for their cork boards. Where there's a will, there's a way though! Nicely done!

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  7. New follower from All Things Heart & Home! What an awesome job on this project - great job & lovely blog. :O)

    Marie
    http://SallyLeeByTheSea.com

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  8. Looks great! Good idea to use the canvas backing and fabric. I may make one for myself, but where would I put the vinyl? Haha. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

    Susannah
    www.uvinyl.blogspot.com

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  9. This looks GREAT! I made a memo board for my mother in law using the same technique...now I want one for myself!! It looks beautiful :)

    Thank you so much for linking up to "20 Below Thursday"! :) I really appreciate it!!

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  10. Hi Judy!
    I just linked to this post on my blog!!
    http://mygreenbraecottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/ribbon-and-more-memory-boards-linky.html

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  11. THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I knew I could do this, and you actually used some of the ideas I had... you just put them all together. I love how you use the already prepared art canvas, but put cork board on top... I was just about to break the bank to buy these at PB Teen... but you convinced me I CAN DO IT!!!!

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