A Little Bit Shabby ~ But Mostly Chic Message Board Tutorial

When I revamped my office I knew I wanted to come up with a replacement for my old cork bulletin boards.  I needed something flexible enough to hang notes, pictures, lists and inspirational sayings and that they could be changed out and moved around easily. I didn’t want anything that used push pins because the pins poke holes and tiny holes in anything drives me crazy.

For the board in this tutorial I used a ready made frame but the size I wanted was only available in black, which was not the color I wanted so I added extra steps to the project that you can skip if you purchase a frame in a color you love. This message board is perfect for my needs. I love having something stylish, yet completely functional.

After choosing your frame, you will need to decide which way you want it to hang. If you look at the picture of my frame it could have been hung either direction. If I had chosen the opposite direction the lace would have been narrow and I would have added more rows.  Once you have your frame decide on the direction, measure out the width of the lace x the number of rows add 1″ to the lace length for each row to your total so for example my frame is 27″ wide + 1″ for each edge x 2 rows which totals 56 inches of lace I needed to purchase.

Supplies to make your message board:

Ready made frame – choose a size that works for you ~ I chose a frame 27″ x 16″ and as you can see from the pictures the frame was originally black ( I used a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby) check your Sunday paper or download the app so the coupon is with you at all times.

Eye screws – two for each row of lace

Picture wire

Lace * the measurement from the instructions

If you want to paint or glaze your frame you will need

Spray Primer and Paint

Glaze ( if you want to mix your own use 2 parts Glaze and one part colorant)

Mini Clothes Pins

If you purchased a frame in the color you want and don’t need to paint or glaze it skip to step 5

Step One – Wash the frame with a soft cloth and water – allow to dry thoroughly

Step Two – Prime the frame with a spray sealer and paint

Step Three – Mix the glaze (2 parts glaze and one part colorant)

Step Four – Apply the glaze with a sponge brush and wipe off leaving color in and spaces –  you can reapply the glaze after it has dried completely if it is not dark enough

Step Five – measure out where you want to place the rows of lace and place one eye screws into the side of the frame repeat at the same distance from the top on the opposite side.

Run the Picture Hanging wire through the row of lace to give it stability and wrap the wire around the eye screw at each end twisting to secure.

If you want you can make a bow for the top as I have or even embellish the mini clothes pins by painting or staining them or gluing on  flowers or rhinestones which I will do when I get a few minutes. The picture below is the second message board I made ~ a friend loved the first one with the rope edging so much I took it off the wall and gave it to her! It took me no time at all to make another since I had purchased enough lace for two and friends are precious gifts, so I was happy that I could make her happy!

There you go easy ~ peasy! I hope you give this a try ~ it will make a great gift for moms and grandmas and it would even be cute for new mom to hang in a nursery, or use it as a kids chore board with tags that are removed when a chore is complete! Let me know what uses you come up with and if you give it a try I would love to see how yours turned out.

Blessings,

Kim