Charissa's Graduation Gift!

My little sister is graduating from Purdue next weekend!  Like me, she's had an untraditional higher education experience because of various obstacles, and it also took her nine years to complete her degree.  So this sort of thing is no small feat!  Congratulations, Charissa!

Since funds are low, I made her gift...a cushy Purdue bulletin board.

It was REALLY easy, actually!  You can customize this sort of thing for anyone with just a bit of fun, personalized fabric.

1. Buy (or use what you've got) a bulletin board...or plywood/corkboard. 
2. If it is framed already, then spray paint the frame your color of choice.  (Tape off the bulletin board!  Wet bulletin boards bubble and become kind of useless.)
3. Lay out batting or even just stuffing, thinly, over the size of your board.
4. Measure and cut the fabric to go over it.  (If you're using a corkboard or plywood, you'll want to measure enough to spill over onto the back of the board for full coverage; if your board is framed, measure the size of the board inside the frame and then add about 1/4 inch to account for the fluff.)
5. Hot glue (I did) or use a staple gun to attach the fabric to the board!  (Again, if there's no frame, pull fabric tightly over to the back and staple it there--you'll love how clean it looks!)
6. Add parallel, diagonal strips of ribbon in one direction down the board.
7. Add ribbon the other direction, weaving over and under each ribbon you cross.

That's it!  You can buy fancy push pins and glue them into where the ribbons cross to get a puffier, more quilted look, but since I'm poor I just kept it as is.  I think it looks fabulous, and hopefully it will be a great reminder of all her time and hard work at Purdue!  Boiler up!