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Friday, June 17, 2011

Father's Day Memo Board


My Dad has always collected stamps.  He's got an entire room at the house devoted to stamps, and goes to stamp shows and the whole thing.  I don't see the appeal, but it makes for some easy gifts.  I had bought (many years ago) some stamp fabric, not knowing what I'd do with it.  I somehow got the idea to do a memo board, and was all set to start from scratch when I saw this one at Michael's for only $4.99!


Here's what you need:

  • Memo Board
  • 3/8 Ribbon
  • Fabric to cover
  • Glue Gun
  • Fabric Glue
  • Staple Gun
  • Pliers if necessary
  • Tape (optional)
I first decided to see what was under the black felt in the back.  I was in luck, because everything was glued on and easy to peel off!  I had to unscrew the hooks as well.  I pulled off the buttons and put them aside for later.  I also pulled off the ribbon.  I left the blue fabric as is, and just worked on top of it.

Me & "Burnsie" the Glue Gun
To start, I covered my board with my (ironed) fabric.  I taped it as I went until I was satisfied - then glued it down with the glue gun.  Next was the ribbon...  I had tried to mark where the ribbon originally went, but inadvertently covered my marks with the fabric.  Where the buttons had been were divots, so I was able to use those as my guide.  I taped those down as I went, then stapled where the button would go.  I glued the ends of the ribbon on the back with the glue gun as well.



The buttons came next, and they are the hardest.  I was able to disassemble them into three pieces - fabric covering, metal button top, and plastic bottom.  Cut out a small circle of your co-ordinating fabric and cover the button.  This is where I used a bit of fabric glue and just worked it until it was smooth.  They do sell button cover kits, and that might have made it easier:
 Dritz Aluminum Cover Button Kits-Size 30 3/4 Inch 5/Pkg

After I had my buttons covered, I glued those on with the hot glue gun as well.  I screwed the hardware back on the back and glued down the felt.  Voila!  This project only cost me $5.49!


**Update - I gave this to my Dad today when we saw him, and he told me the stamps on the fabric are real stamps, and not just a design!  Very neat!

2 comments:

  1. I love this! My husband is a stamp collector too! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome project.

    http://jeanneselep.blogspot.com/2011/06/4th-of-july-hutch.html

    ReplyDelete