clipboard how-to...

After my post from my craft party last week, I had several people ask about the super cute decoupaged clipboards we made. They are so incredibly easy to make... promise.

First thing's first... gather up your supplies. You will need a clipboard (I used a cheap wooden one from Staples), some pretty paper, a paper cutter, a corner rounder, some Mod Podge, a brush (I used a super cheap foam brush that I could just throw away when I was done), and some ribbon.

I used my clipboard as my measuring tool and drew a small pencil mark where I needed to trim my paper. Use your paper cutter to trim away. Or if you don't have a paper cutter, you can totally go old school and use actual scissors... I just have problems cutting a straight line.

Then use the clipboard as a guide to mark where the actual clip goes and cut a small notch out of the top of your paper. This is optional, but I wanted my pretty paper to cover as much of the clipboard as humanly possible. Oh, you may want to use some ribbon or twine to tie the top of your clipboard so it will remain open.

Then, take your corner rounder and round just the bottom 2 corners of your paper, so it will match the rounded corners of your clipboard. What? Your don't have a corner rounder??? (Gasp!) Well, you should. It is by far my favorite crafting tool that I own. Just beware, if you get one, you will start rounding the corners on everything.

Okay... now comes the fun part. Use your foam brush to slop on some Mod Podge all over the front of your clipboard... it's basically like glue. Be sure to spread it everywhere... all the way to the edges.

Then carefully adhere your pretty paper to the clipboard. Smooth out your paper to eliminate any major air bubbles. I used a putty spreader that you can find in the hardware section... but I really don't think this is necessary. Just use your hand to smooth out your paper... should work fine. Don't stress too much if you have a few air bubbles in there. I promise most of these will flatten out as your project dries completely.

Once your paper is adhered to the clipboard you want to Mod Podge the front as well. This will "seal" your paper and give your clipboard somewhat of a lacquered-textured look. For those of you that aren't familiar with decoupaging, don't worry... it will all dry clear.

Here is what mine looked like when I finished up with the Mod Podge. See... I have a few air bubbles in there. (Proof that using that putty spreader thingie didn't do me a bit of good). Once it dries you can add some fun ribbon at the top if you want.

Here is the finished product. I should have taken a photo without the sticky notes on it, so you could see that the air bubbles completely vanished. They did though... I promise. What's that? Oh... you love my paper?? I know, right? So functional with the days of the week, huh? I have been holding on to this piece of scrapbook paper for years now... just waiting for the perfect, clever little project...

And here is my clever little clipboard in action... giving me a snapshot of my weekly schedule. I love how this project turned out. Pretty and functional!

I think these would make adorable gifts, don't you? Here's one I made for my sister...

I used her wedding colors and decoupaged both the front and the back. I adhered a little envelope to the back and used some rub-on words I had on hand. Thought the "To have and to hold" saying was pretty clever for the envelope. But wouldn't this be a great clipboard for her wedding planner to carry around? Then I thought the envelope on the back could be used to hold final payments to food vendors and photographers... you know all those last minute details for the big day?

Anyhow... there you have it. A clipboard how-to. Happy crafting!!