Corbin's Birthday Gift

When I went to that craft night back in April (the one where I made the "Stuff" board) most everyone else made "Look What I Did" boards. They are a place for kids to display their artwork, school projects, etc.
After finding a scrap piece of wood in Shelly's trailer, I decided to make one for my nephew Corbin's first birthday. I searched forever for Circus themed paper since I know that is how his nursery is decorated, but I was unsucessful. So I went with the Zoo theme. I lucked out and found the perfect ribbon for it, too - 50% off at Hobby Lobby. It's hard to find ribbon that is appropriate for a boy, but I think the zebra print is perfect.

I started by painting the board black using regular craft paint.

Then I arranged my paper on the board until I found the arrangement that pleased me the most. I decided that I wanted the letters on a neutral background so that you could see them clearly. I measured the letters to make sure I allowed enough of that background. There was a lot of thought and math involved, and I probably spent way too much time thinking about the best layout. I tend to overthink things. (Helpful Hint: Take a picture of the arrangement in case you forget it when you go to apply the modpodge.)


I then covered the board with a couple layers of modpodge.


Meanwhile, while that was drying, I started work on the clothespins. I decided on small craft clothespins instead of the regular size ones because the regular ones cover up too much of the paper. Just make sure your small clothespins are strong enough to hold paper - - you wouldn't want to end up with a finished project you couldn't use, right?
I cut paper to fit on the front of the clothespin, glued them on, and then covered with a great product called Diamond Glaze. It's hard to find, but it's really awesome. You can apply it to just about anything to create a clear, raised, hard finish. Almost like epoxy, but much easier to use. It can also be used as a very strong glue.
I applied the Diamond Glaze in a line on the clothespin, and then spread it around evenly with a toothpick. I then let them dry FLAT (very important to get the finish to look right) by clipping them to a notepad that was just the right width.

Once the clothespins were dry, I glued them to the board with the Diamond Glaze. I applied the letters, placing the first and last letters to begin with, then filling in the rest so that they would be spaced evenly.
Then I took the board over to Mom and Shelly's house so that Shelly could drill a couple 1/4" diameter holes in stratigically placed spots. I threaded the ribbon through, tied some knots and I was done.
Here it is.


Corbin's parents seemed to like it. Since he is only 1, he probably won't have a whole lot to display on the board for a while. Until then, his parents can use it to post notes and reminders, or even hang up a bib to dry. (That is one of the next things I am going to make for myself. Now that Eva is eating baby food, we have to pratically hose down her bibs after she eats. It would be nice to have a place to hang them to dry.)