diy pinboard

While on the quest to be a better student during the summer break, I realised that I needed constant reminders regarding all the junk I had to do. I've had pin boards, cork boards and white boards before and they've sort of done this job pretty well, but they've all been about the size of an A3 sheet of paper and can be quite price-y at times. So not cool. So I decided to make one myself out of a damaged stretched art canvas, upholstery fabric and foam sheets all for much cheaper, and prettier too!

a small selection of thumbtacks, and paper on the hessian-ish upholstery fabric

MATERIALS;

• (MEASUREMENTS) thick art canvas (It was going to the clearance bin at work because it had this small tear in it for $7.50 which is a huge markdown, and then it was 50% off clearance so it was $3.75)
• 1.5m hessian-like upholstery fabric (any fabric will do I guess, but I reccomend upholstery because it's tougher)
• foam sheets to cover the front of the canvas (wadding should work fine as well)
• staple gun or really good glue (I used Helmar's Foam Glue, it's good stuff)
  
• ribbon/string/hooks (however you want to mount your pin board)

WHAT YOU DO;

• Slather the surface of the canvas with glue to stick down the foam or wadding (it's best to do this in manageable stages because you will need to apply some pressure and you don't want your glue drying on you). This gives the pins something to bite into. I haven't really figured out the logistics of using a staple gun for this so if anyone knows, please tell me =]
• I chose to let this dry overnight, face down on plastic (to protect my carpet) with books lining the inside of the canvas to add weight
• The next day, grab your material and stretch it over the canvas. Don't glue this to the front as when the glue dries it becomes hard and it makes it undesrable to pin things into.
• Securely tuck the edges into the canvas frame and use a lot of glue. Remember to snip diagonals in the corners so it fits around the frame properly.
• Leave this to dry overnight again.
• All you have to do now is decorate it

DECORATING IDEAS;

I think it's best to use what you already have on hand. I have tonnes of paper, ribbon and buttons, so I used them =]

• Adorable Thumbtacks
  Have a whole load of cute buttons you don't really have a use for? Use them to make your thumbtacks look more attractive by hot gluing them onto the heads of your pins. They look super cute and awesome. You can also use the heads of scrap booking brads or large sequins even =]

• To Do Lists or Tear Off Notes
  Use offcuts of all your scrap booking paper and notebooks creatively to make slightly more eye catching lists and reminders. After all, we are more inclined to look at prettier things =]

• Impromtu White Board
  Use a plastic sleeve (an overhead transparency works best) layered on top of a white sheet of paper and it can serve as a temporary white board until you can be bothered to lay your hands on one.