Ta da! Two completed ribbon boards!Yesterday I got out to Michaels and bought a few more spools of 50 cent ribbon to finish off the ribbon boards. Honestly, they really aren't that difficult to make once you figure out the quirks behind the specific materials you are using. I am in love with them - especially the fabric. It's a Waverly pattern I found at Wal-Mart and is serving as the inspiration behind our Save the Date cards (Christopher is in the process of designing those right now).
"H is for Hartwell, that's good enough for me!"
I have emailed most of our family, but if I accidentally left you out of the list, my apologies! Please mail us a snapshot of you and your beloved on your wedding day. It does not need to be a professional shot - anything will do. We just want to display the models of love and affection that we see everyday. :-)
"H is for Hartwell, that's good enough for me!"
Hard to see the brads, but they read:
k l m
l o v e
c g h
If you want to make your own ribbon board, here is how I made mine (on a budget)... step by step.k l m
l o v e
c g h
Materials:
- Stretched canvas. I bought mine at Michaels - 2 for $15 and then with a 50% off coupon, taking them down to $3.25 each.
- Fabric. Originally going for toile, I couldn't find a Jamestown print in light pink and ended up with this ADORABLE (and oh-so-Kristi) striped fabric from Wal-Mart. 1.5 yards for $5 and I had a ton left over. So probably $1.50 for each board.
- Craft batting. Again, I got mine at Michaels (no coupon) but it was about $4.00 which covered both boards. Rock a coupon and you can do this for $1.00/board.
- Thumb tacks. Originally I was going to use nails, but found out that the canvas is much too narrow depth-wise, so thumb tacks worked perfectly. Late night run to CVS gave me 150 for $2.50 with some left over. About $1.00/board.
- Brads. The cost of these all depend on your taste. I was going to use antique looking pewter brads, but then I found ones that had letters on them and thought they were adorable. I got 2 packs at JoAnn Fabric for $4.00/pack. I could have used just one pack but I wanted to make sure I got all the letters I wanted to spell things out. If you're not letter conscious - $2.00/board; I spent $4.00/board with lots of leftovers!
- Ribbon of your choice. The ribbon was tricky because it had to be smaller than the brads. I found this cute eyelet like ribbon for $0.50/spool at Michaels. I used 3 spools altogether - this will just depend on how many crosses you want. We'll call it $0.75 per board.
- X-acto knife. Most people just have these.
Now for the directions...
1. Start with a plain stretched canvas - whatever size you want.
2. Stretch the batting tightly around the canvas and throw a few thumb tacks in to hold it in place. Cut off the extra batting.
3. Cut your fabric to size (leaving at LEAST 2-3 inches on each side of your canvas). Iron out all the wrinkles. (Note: I broke my iron after this - dropped it twice. Oops)
4. Starting on the top, pin your fabric to the board, working your way from the middle out to reduce any slack. Stretch the fabric tightly. If you're working with stripes or another pattern, be sure it's lined up correctly.
5. Use "hospital corners" to keep the corners solid and work your way down the board, stretching and keeping it as level as possible.
6. A completed board! The stripes are just a TAD off, but once you get the ribbon on, no one will notice. Plus, I'm just a perfectionist.
7. SO much easier the second time around! The second board took me far less time, less pins, and probably looks a lot better!8. Now it's time to apply the ribbon. (I don't have photos of these). What I did was run a "measuring ribbon" (different color) from one corner diagonally to the opposite corner to make an X and pinned those in place. I used these as a marking point to be sure the ribbons were spaced correctly.
9. Working off the measuring ribbon, calculate the distance you want between the rows. My first board I did 4" between each, the second I learned better and did 6". It all depends on how many crosses you want.
10. Measure 1/2 that amount off the measuring ribbon. So for the first board I measured 2" and made sure it was parallel the entire way. Then 2" on the opposite side of the measuring ribbon; thus, ensuring a 4" spread.
11. Measure the full amount as you work out from the center. So 4" from the newly placed ribbons, I would put another one. Make sure the spacing is even the entire way down. With each new ribbon, make sure it's pulled tight and put a pushpin in the back of the board to hold it.
12. Repeat for the opposite side creating the diamond pattern. It works well if you have a striped pattern because you can sort of follow the fabric to help ensure accuracy.
12. Definitely not the most beautiful thing from the back!
13. Next turn to the front and at each cross, hold the ribbons tightly and push the x-acto knife through the ribbons, batting and canvas.
14. Insert the brad into the hole and push out the sides to hold it in place. HERE is where I ran into a heck of a problem on the first board. The crosses were too close the edge and ended up on top of the frame. Since the canvas isn't stapled in the front, it is possible to pull it away from the wood but it is really difficult without bending the brads. I learned my lesson on the second board and made less crosses. It all turned out for the best though because now I have two boards that will hold differing size photos!
15. And .... your completed ribbon board!
9. Working off the measuring ribbon, calculate the distance you want between the rows. My first board I did 4" between each, the second I learned better and did 6". It all depends on how many crosses you want.
10. Measure 1/2 that amount off the measuring ribbon. So for the first board I measured 2" and made sure it was parallel the entire way. Then 2" on the opposite side of the measuring ribbon; thus, ensuring a 4" spread.
11. Measure the full amount as you work out from the center. So 4" from the newly placed ribbons, I would put another one. Make sure the spacing is even the entire way down. With each new ribbon, make sure it's pulled tight and put a pushpin in the back of the board to hold it.
12. Repeat for the opposite side creating the diamond pattern. It works well if you have a striped pattern because you can sort of follow the fabric to help ensure accuracy.
12. Definitely not the most beautiful thing from the back!13. Next turn to the front and at each cross, hold the ribbons tightly and push the x-acto knife through the ribbons, batting and canvas.
14. Insert the brad into the hole and push out the sides to hold it in place. HERE is where I ran into a heck of a problem on the first board. The crosses were too close the edge and ended up on top of the frame. Since the canvas isn't stapled in the front, it is possible to pull it away from the wood but it is really difficult without bending the brads. I learned my lesson on the second board and made less crosses. It all turned out for the best though because now I have two boards that will hold differing size photos!
15. And .... your completed ribbon board!
This is board number 1 that reads:
k l m
l o v e
c g h
l o v e
k l m
l o v e
c g h
Board number 2 (less crosses) reads:
k m
w e d
c h
w e d
k m
So there you have it! A relatively easy do-it-yourself project. It does take some patience, but the outcome is super cute. I may even go buy some smaller canvases and use up the rest of my materials! Hooray! Now... what project should I move on to next?!?!
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