pinteresterrific

i was one of the many skeptics of pinterest initially, for all the same reasons everyone else was: i didn't need more sites to check! i can't keep up with my interwebbing as it is! but man, since the minute i joined? have not looked back. it's brilliant.

anyway, i found a pin with this DIY bulletin board makeover from Name 5 Things and instantly repinned it to my own DIY board. i recently became the proud owner of chris's beat up, childhood bulletin board, which had been living at his parents' house until now, to hang over the desk in the guest room at our apartment. it was perfect! except.. well, bulletin boards don't age very well, apparently.

it's not the best picture, but as you can see it was faded in all sorts of interesting patterns, plus the board itself was pretty beat up - there were large gouges in the cork, plus lots of smaller (but very visible) holes and lumps. you also can see the delightful deep forest green rug that the previous owners felt was a good choice for the entire main area of the condo.

anyway! i bought a yard of fabric, a spool of $1 ribbon, some spray adhesive, and some thumbtacks, and within about an hour had this to show for myself:

(sorry, all of these pictures are at night in a not-very-well-lit house. i'm not home while it's light out.)

it actually came out better than i expected, given my general lack of attention span & attention to detail when it comes to crafty things. i used thin fabric on purpose so that it would still be easy to pushpin through, but that did mean that most of the board's imperfections are still visible through it. but since they're PRETTIER imperfections now, i don't care.

i also initially considered using spray adhesive on the ribbon, but ultimately decided i was too lazy (and that spray adhesive is pretty messy) so i just put a tack through the ribbon every few inches and it looks good enough for me.

the one thing i did take the time to do was to iron the fabric carefully and thoroughly to get all the wrinkles and fold lines out. which means, naturally, this is what i came back to after hanging the bulletin board up:

he's very helpful, this cat.