Clippies & whirly-gigs

I promised I would post some of my clipboards and a brief tut on how to make them.

First it is not necessary but preferred to prime the metal clip on the board.  You can get by without doing this step but the paint may chip off more easily.  I have had reasonable success with using Gesso instead of the spray-on Krylon (or the like) primer.  Then you will paint the wooden part of the board with regular craft paint.  Lots of times I will let the girls do this step.  They love it and they really can't mess anything up.  It is a win-win-win situation.

In case you're one of THOSE (and I'm talkin' to you Coll) that has to know specifics...it looks like here I used Winter Blue for the board and Light Buttermilk for the clip.

 

Oh, I almost forgot...before you start take a twist-tie or florist wire or any kind of wire and twist it to hold open the clip.  I find a set of pliers helps me.  It allows you to get underneath the clip to paint the board and also doubles as a handy-dandy hanger for drying purposes...  Which is especially nice if you're making a gift for an event that you were already supposed to have left the house to attend.  Think I would do something like that?!?

Next is the fun part.  Invest in a lovely set of alphabet foam stamps.  You won't regret this purchase.  Any other classic shapes (like flourishes, etc..) you will find yourself using over and over again too.  These are Making Memories (Misunderstood font).

I used this flourish in a powder room in our first house.  It has served me well.

I like to vary my stamp sizes and colors for interest.

Don't forget to grunge the edges (just dry brush with paint, ink, or both)  See the difference in the before and after...

Before grunge

After grunge

(don't forget to grunge the clip too)

And go here if you want to tie the perfect bow.

Then you're done. (Don't forget to take off the twist-tie/wire holding the clip open.)

The possibilities are endless.  They really do make good gifts for kids and adults alike.  There is something about the wooden clipboard that kids especially LOVE though.  I think it makes them feel grown up or something.

 

 

Now, wanna cute quick project for the kiddos?  I'm thinking this would be cute done in Christmas colors of your choice and used as a garland.  You could even deliberately space them so that you didn't have $400 caught up in felt.

You are going to need several pieces of felt about 4x6" (we cut the precut 4/$1 felt into 4 pieces). 

Place 2 different colors of felt on top of each other. 

Glue the 2 pieces together at one short edge and let it dry. 

Roll it up and glue to hold (think sushi).  We used Aileen's Tacky Glue.  Let that dry. 

Cut them into about 1" rounds, let the kiddos string them (with a needle).  We did find that it was kind of tough to get through all that dried glue with a needle so I had to help them a little with that part.

Now get crafting...Christmas will be here before you know it!