I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday.
Ours was filled with family, friends, and lots of travel. We had a wonderful time, but we are definitely glad to be back on a schedule.
We started school yesterday, and it's nice to have the whole day planned out.
We took the entire month of December off because we started school so early, so there wasn't any rhyme or reason to most days before Christmas...just maxin' and relaxin'.
Since I had so much time on my hands, I was able to get a few projects knocked out.
Outside of being a full-time stay at home mom, I am also a licensed hair stylist. I have a little spot set up in the laundry room with a shampoo sink, and I occasionally get to use my stylist skills.
I am in the process of getting my laundry room turned into an "at-home" salon. My goal is to make it look less like a laundry room and more like a salon...however, the big fat washer and dryer still make it look like one;-)
Budget and time are big factors right now, so I can't do the major renovations I want to do, so I have been doing small projects to make the space a little more decorated.
I am really excited to share with you one of my latest projects.
It's a Burlap Message Board.
I found my inspiration from the Ballard Designs catalog.
This project took around an hour, and I will have to say, I couldn't believe how easy it was.
And, it was super cheap!
Are you interested in making one for yourself?
Here are the supplies you need:
Cork board(found mine at a yard sale for $2)
Quilt batting(had some on hand)
Burlap(purchased mine from Hobby Lobby with 40% off coupon)
Brass Tacks(they were $1.99 at Hobby Lobby)
scissors
hammer
low temp glue gun(a must!!)
glue sticks
picture hanger for back
I loved the little gold flecks in this burlap.
If I spot something sparkly, it usually ends up in the cart:-)
Let's get started!
You want to wrap the batting along the front of the cork board.
You'll flip it over, and glue the batting to the sides of the frame.
It should look a little something like this when you are finished.
Trim the excess batting all the way down to the frame. You won't want the extra bulk when wrapping the burlap.
Next, lay the board on top of the burlap.
This process is similar to recovering a cushion on a chair. You will start on one side and glue the burlap down to the back of the frame(not the sides, like the batting). This is why you definitely want a low temp glue gun. Your fingers will thank you!!
Once you have one side glued down, then you will glue the opposite side, making sure to pull tightly.
Repeat on all sides.
Your corners will be sticking up, so just put a glob of glue in the corner and mash.
Make sure it's LOW TEMP or you will burn your fingers to bits.
When all sides and corners are glued down, you should have something that looks like this.
Next come the tacks. I measured here and there, but they are by no means perfect.
I measured just enough so that they wouldn't be too wonky.
Just start hammering away until you get the desired look.
The last step is to add the picture hanger on the back. You will definitely want a more precise measurement for this step so that it will hang level.
And this is the end result!
I love the result, and it does a great job in covering two massive holes in the wall that will be fixed...someday:-)
Let me know if you decide to make one too. I'd love to see what you come up with!
