Linen Pinboard

Ohhh if only I could make my current salary by blogging & doing creative projects around the home...wouldn't that be a dream! This week brought the return of work which means a lot less time to be creative. So, I am going to post pics from a project I did a few months ago that is so practical & good looking! Here is my inspiration:

I saw a picture of these linen tiles (above) and thought it would be really neat to put a pinboard above my craft desk in my office. This way I could keep inspirational/fun items out in front of me while creating. So, determined to spend as little as possible (the pottery barn pricing was outrageous for as simple as this is to make) I got to working. I wanted to frame a large tackboard with a frame that matched my desk & use linen to cover a tackboard for inside the frame. The above picture was my first inspiration & this woven ribbon pinboard furthered my design concept.

I bought a large corkboard from Hobby Lobby, using one of their weekly 40% off one item coupons (subscribe online if you dont already get this!!). A week or so earlier I got a bargain deal on the linen I used for this project. It was originally $30/yd and was being clearanced out for $10/yd. They applied that week's 40% off coupon, plus the extra 30% off fabric discount and I cant even tell you what I paid per yard. Probably $4-5--what a deal! I have extra that I will make into a headboard for the guestroom when we move, that way everything matches!!

Okay, onto the project. I folded neat corners and used a staple gun to pull the linen tight on the corkboard:

Viola! All stretched & ready to go using only the tools you see here:

This is the frame I bought (again, one week using a 40% coupon) to match my ivory furniture (excuse the spot, camera issue):

I used my sketchbook to determine the overlapping of the ribbon & measured out perfect squares:

I found ribbon that had fine stitching the same color as my walls!!

And here is the final product (well, what was the final product) I added a few tacks to hold up the ribbon so it didn't sag or drop items. A little tip: instead of using ugly pushpins, go to Home Depot or Lowes & find some furniture upholstery tacks. They are super cheap and you can find them in really pretty finishes & designs. Mine are bronze in an antique daisy shape and were $0.50 for a box of 25:

I am in the middle of my wedding scrapbook (I know, 3 & 1/2 years later) so I put all of my graphics up so I can see them all & don't forget what I have. This way I can properly design each page with all the available resources! It may not look as fabulous anymore, but is so practical!