Making Memories {French Memo Board Tutorial}

Our niece, Ashley, graduated from high school at the end of May. One of her gifts was a French memo board I made for her in the colors of her dorm {she starts college this fall}. I did not even think to check blogland for tutorials, and I've never made one. I had one that I purchased brand new, unused at a garage sale 3-4 years ago. It was fucshia pink with orange ribbon. Not my style and not the colors of Ashley's dorm decor. I did not take a before picture of the memo board {sorry, I forgot}. I was thinking more about getting the project done in time rather than a blog tutorial. It hit me after I removed the buttons, removed the fabric panel on the back, ironed my fabric and stapled it on there that I should have taken a picture {Oops!}. Since I have been MIA from blogging, I just was not thinking, but you will get photos and the steps below. :) Hopefully the end result will make up for it.

Materials:
· Inexpensive memo board
· 1 1⁄4 yards fabric of your choice
· Iron and ironing board, optional
· Fabric scissors
· Staple gun and staples
· 5 yards seam binding or grosgrain ribbon, 5⁄8 inch wide, color of your choice
· Covered-button kit with 3⁄4-inch buttons or re-purpose the buttons as I did
· Wire cutter
· Frame hanging wire
· Fabric for backside of board {muslin or cotton sheeting}
· ½ grossgain ribbon to cover staples on fabric on backside of board.
· Fabric glue

1. Remove and discard the buttons and ribbons from the original memo board. Note: If you are using a template board you made, be sure to wrap it in batting and then fabric. I remembered the ribbon pattern as I drew it on a piece of paper so I would know how to place my ribbon {a large "X" and 4 parallel pieces}.

2. Iron your fabric to remove any wrinkles, if necessary. Lay the fabric facedown on a flat surface {if using burlap, you will need to double the fabric so it is not see through}; lay the memo board facedown over the fabric. Cut excess fabric so there is approximately 2 inches fabric overhang on each side of the memo board.

Wrap the fabric to the back of the board, stretching the fabric so it is tight. Using the staple gun, secure one staple at the center of each side.

3. Wrap fabric over diagonally at each corner, and secure with a staple. Neatly fold in the remaining fabric and staple in place. Finish stapling the fabric around the memo board.



4. Turn the memo board face-up. Cut two ribbon pieces a few inches longer than the distance from corner to corner diagonally. Wrap one end to the back, and staple in place. Stretch the ribbon tight to the opposite corner, wrap the end to the back, and staple. Repeat with the second ribbon, forming an “X”. Add four more ribbons parallel to the first ones {this makes a diamond shape when looking at the “X”}, stretching them tight from the mid-points of each side.







I used two different colors of grossgrain ribbon, but you could use all the same color.

5. Insert a staple at each ribbon intersection. I used scraps of 2 inch wide silk ribbon and made five covered buttons, hand-stitching the ribbon to cover the buttons. I attached the buttons with fabric glue hiding the staples at each ribbon intersection. Furniture brads would be another great idea. Because I was gluing buttons on {used fabric glue so they don't pop off like they would if I used hot glue}, I covered the staples at each ribbon intersection with the finished button.





6. I covered the back of the board with fabric I had from a cotton sheet. I used pinking shears to cut it so it would not fray, stapled it in place, and covered the staples with 2 inch blue grossgrain ribbon {I took a photo of the fabric and did not take one of the ribbon covering the staples}. I glued the ribbon in place with permanent fabric glue. The tape on the unfinished board back was to cover where the staples poked through.





Voila! Here's the finished French memo board. {I put the buttons in place and snapped a photo prior to gluing them down}.

Sorry for the lighting in the photos looking so yellow. Batteries were close to dying and I took the photos the evening I made the board as opposed to daylight, which would have made for better pictures! You get the idea...



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As for our niece, the graduate, she loved it!

Remember, keep it simple, keep it crafty, keep it thrifty, and keep it chic!









I'm linking up to these parties this week. Stop by for some creative inspiration. I'll be adding new party links everyday:

Blue Cricket Design's Linky Party Button is not working so here is the link to her post:
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2011/06/show-and-tell-linking-party-5.html

It's the Great Pumpkin, Ya'll!

I feel certain this is my final fall tutorial. ;S For 2010, that is. I started in August, after all. I have 2 tutorials below. They are easy peasy!

Fall Candlescapes that I will use through Thanksgiving...

I simply took what I already had and threw it together. This project used (3) 7.5" cylinder vases from Dollar Tree (these were used in our wedding as well as a baby shower I co-hosted this month for a dear friend), (3) LED 6" pillar candles. These were a gift from a dear friend for our wedding {even better that they are vanilla scented}, fall leaves (I think I purchased a bunch at Publix for $3, which you can also find at the craft stores), fabric fall leaves that I double-side taped onto the LED pillars. No worries, it will come off like a charm. Once inside the vase, I inserted 3 of the fall leaves from the bunch. I used LED pillars because I won't have to worry about the leaves catching on fire and I can simply pull each pillar out to turn it on. Piece of cake! Below are Candles 1, 2, and 3. The final reveal is after the pumpkin tutorial as I took pix of both together on our mantel.





Now for the Pumpkins... I'm not big into Halloween Decor so I mainly decorate for fall and Thanksgiving. However, for those of you out there who decorate for both, this tutorial is still applicable. I bought (3) pumpkins from Dollar Tree. They were ugly, and I mean ugly. I originally wanted to prime them and paint them Heirloom White so they would resemble all those white pumpkins I've been crushing on since last year. Well, I just did not have it in me to do all that spray painting before or after the shower I co-hosted earlier this month. I had sprayed one as a test with Oil Rubbed Bronze (ORB) but it was too black for what I wanted. I started painting another one in a cream acrylic paint. Not feelin' the love... Then it hit me ~ I love my Metallics acrylic paint in Rich Espresso Brown. Why not paint them with that? To get a good base, I painted them first with Patio Paint in Chocolate Brown. Below are the pix with the 3rd pumpkin being the only one that had just the Patio Paint and Metallic Paint on it. The others had ORB & cream acrylic paint on them first.





And now for the reveal... No, I don't plan on leaving the pumpkins here as they don't really fit but it works for the sake of snapping a photo. Nice streak on the bottom of our mirror that I need to wipe down again. :) The only thing I don't like about how they turned out is you can see a line in the middle of each one where it was in its mold. I'm thinking some ribbon will take care of camouflaging. You get what you pay for, but they are cute nonetheless. You cannot tell the candles are on since it is daytime but they are cute, too.



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I'm linking up to Hope Studio's Tutorial Tuesday! You can view this and other fabulous tutorials on their blog.


I'm also linking up to Sugar Bee's Take a Look Tuesday, too. Check out all the other bloggers on her site, too.


I'm also linking up to "Toot Your Horn Tuesday" at The Silly Little Sparrow's blog.

I'm linking to "The Halloween Pumpkin Parade Party" at the Fabulous Under The Table & Dreaming blog.




Also linking to the Fall Festival at The DIY Show Off. Another fabulous blog with so many creative bloggers.


And finally... Sister Sister Sunday @ Kuzak's Closet So many delicious things on this blog.

Sister Sister Sunday

Remember... Keep it simple, keep it crafty, keep it frugal, keep it fabulous, & keep it fun!

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star...Do You Know How Loved You Are?

Sorry for my absence in blogging. My dear hubby and I just went away on a 1-year anniversary vacation so I spent some time guest blogging and getting ready for the launch of small group, our trip, and doing some writing. Below are 2 Tutorials I hope you enjoy!

My dear friends, Randy and Emily, were married in the Spring of 2007, and I had the privilege of being the person who prayed for them {officially as I know others were praying, too} at their wedding. I just love it when God pens a great love story and theirs was/is one that was/is sweet to witness from their meet and greet to their nuptials through today. Emily is expecting their first baby this December. Noah is an answer to many prayers and I cannot wait to personally meet this sweet one. In the meantime, a celebration is in order so two friends and I are co-hosting a shower for Emily and Baby Noah. No particular theme in mind (no, we aren't going with the ark theme ~ lest it taunt him down the road:). I do know the comforter is from Pottery Barn Kids and has blue and white gingham and that got me thinking...

I have 6 cylinder vases left from my wedding so with those in mind, my brain started spinning. I still have to go get blue gingham scrapbook paper, which I will cut into (4) 3 inch sections to wrap around the vases and I took cute nametags and altered them with Baby Noah's name on one and monogram on the remaining 6. These will stick to the gingham wraps. I have a taller cylinder vase that I will use for his name as that one will probably be the center. I'm assuming we'll have a 6 or 8 foot table to display food to place these on {decorate first, plan later:)} Unfortunately, the full finished product won't be viewed until the shower since I don't have the gingham paper just yet. The idea came from a wrap I made for a couple of wine bottles that hold taper candles using leftover scraps and the monogram I designed from our wedding. Below is the process on these cylinder vase wraps. I'm putting sea glass in the bottom and some lovely greenery ~ fern leaves and other leaves will go inside each cylinder.

This is the project that got me thinking about cylinder vase wraps. The white specks at the bottom of the wine bottle are pieces of the candle that is placed in the bottle opening.


I took some scrapbooking letters from Rusty Pickle that I had and painted them light blue with acrylic paint since they are black. This font fit on the nametag stickers I purchased unopened at Goodwill for $1.





I then used Mod Podge after the paint dried and laid out 6 monograms and the letters for Noah's name on one tag. I coated with one coat of Mod Podge, hence the rough edges. The edges will be clean when I peel the stickers off to place on the blue gingham cylinder vase wraps.



They will be sooo cute! How's that for a humble opinion?

From there, I began sorting through all my scrapbook supplies and papers. I found a cute design and some circle coasters I had purchased last year at Michael's $1 spot with the idea to alter them. For this next project, I needed 14 of the 20 coasters. Why 14? I counted out the letters in "Baby Boy". Yes, I can add. ;) I want these "lollipops" to be double-sided. Mod Podge? Check. Scrapbook Paper (12 x 12 ~ 2 sheets of same design)? Check. 14 Coasters? Check. I had a package of Bamboo Skewers so those will be the "sticks". You can make this same type thing for a wedding shower, baby shower, graduation, birthday, etc. You can place them in individual vases with flowers or cover a styrofoam block with a coordinating paper and place as decor on the gift table. Be creative ~ there is no wrong or right. Even though I envision an event with decor in mind beforehand, I have been known to change as I decorate along the way. Blessed are the flexible...



By the way, these coasters are the very thin paper ones and not the thicker ones I've seen in the craft stores.



For the cute paper, I chose (2) sheets of a 12x12 size, make sure it is a thicker paper that will stand up to glue or mod podge. Use whatever you have on hand, if you can.



I scored this pack of Bamboo Skewers at Kroger for $1 over the 4th of July holiday as I had an idea for them but ran out of time and steam.






I painted chipboard letters with the blue acrylic paint I purchased and it matched the paper (sigh of relief!). While you don't see two sets of the word "Baby", I did make two.

Pictured below are the first set of coasters Mod Podged onto the back side of the paper.





Here are 2 coasters that I cut out with my cuttle bug detail scissors. Once you Mod Podge the coasters to the back side of the paper, I flip it over where I'm looking at the pretty side (aka: face up or right side up). I used a bakery rolling pin that you'd roll out dough with that I use to keep papers glued down nice and tight. Hence, edges are glued down and no air bubbles. Once dry, I cut out each circle perfectly with my cuttle bug scissors. I then used an emery board and sanded down the rough edges. Next came a coat of Mod Podge over each coaster face, the appropriate letter on each one, another coat of Mod Podge and dry time. I dried these overnight.



I don't have pictures of these next steps and my sincerest apologies for that (camera batteries died). I lined up the letters fronts and backs as for "BABY BOY" I should have 2 sets of each. I took out my e6000 glue and ran a ring around the back side of one corresponding coaster for each letter, ran a bead on the tip of the bamboo skewer and placed the coasters back-to-back with the skewer inside. I clipped each double-sided letter with skewer inside with clothes pins until dry. Once dry, I took out the blue acrylic paint and carefully painted around the edge of each coaster now "lollipop" as the raw cardboard and paper edges showed. You could also glue a cute coordinating corded ribbon around each. I wanted to keep it simple. Below are pics of the finished products. I just showed the word "baby" in the photos. I won't lie, this one took time, but I think they will enjoy them at the shower. I had fun making them.







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Keep it simple, keep it crafty, keep it lovely, and keep it fun!