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25 August 2011

A Week of Pinterest-Inspired Crafts: Day 4

I'm having so much fun this week!  My nights are a little busier, and my wallet is a little lighter, but it's totally worth it!

This was my pinspiration for today's craft.  This picture came from A Girl and A Glue Gun - a great blog full of crafty ideas.  I've seen a lot of decorated clipboards out there, but I really liked these.


This was a really cheap and easy to make craft.  I already had the scrapbook paper and mod podge, so I only needed the clipboards - which I found at the Dollar Store.  The most difficult thing about these clipboards was getting the paper to fit around the clip at the top.  I made a template with a blank piece of paper, then used that template to trace all the other tops.  I finished the boards with three coats of mod podge ... I might add a few more coats ... I've been known to knock my coffee over on my desk on more than one occasion.  I do have a tip - I used wood clamps to hold the clip open to apply the mod podge and let it dry.  It worked like a charm!
My youngest thought it would be funny to "pop" up from behind the chair just as I was taking the picture.  Too funny!

I made 4 boards for myself.  One for Language Arts (I use a clipboard when I'm conferencing with my students, completing running records, keeping track of DRA testing, etc.).  One for Phys Ed - I always bring a clipboard to the gym with me (makes for quick and easy assessment and observation), and I need one for coaching (volleyball season is just around the corner).  One for homework (I keep a board to keep track of completed homework, and assignments coming in).  And one extra - for whatever I want.  Voila!  LOVE them!  I wanted to keep the turquoise theme going, but I wanted them to be bright and colourful, too.  Mission accomplished!



Time for a confession - I'm one of those teachers with the "piles" on the desk.  OK - who am I kidding ... piles on the desk, on the counter, on the bookshelf ... you get the picture.  As a result, my clipboards sometimes get buried somewhere in the piles.  Enter great idea ... I glue gunned magnets to the back of the boards (took a few more than I thought it would, but I had lots left over from my magnetic pebbles).  The wall beside my desk is metal, so I can just stick these little babies up on the wall, and keep them away from the growing piles.



And the best part ... this morning when my girls woke up excited to see what craft I had finished last night, I surprised them with clipboards of their very own.  Which makes me THE BEST MOMMY EVER!!!


Happy Thursday!

12 comments:

  1. Those turned out sooo cute!

    I've used mod podge a few times. One was taking a glass plate *dollar tree!* and putting pictures behind it and giving it as a present.

    The other time was taking my plain light plate for my bedroom light switch and I took words from magazines and small pictures, and mod podged them on to the plate.

    I love mod podge!

    Journey of a Substitute Teacher

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  2. okay, so I have a question because mine don't look as cute as yours- so how do you get it so close to the clippy-thing?

    Jennifer

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  3. Jennifer, I measured the clip (width at the bottom, width at the top, and length from the top). I drew the template on a blank page, and cut out the size of the clip from my measurements. I tested it on the board, and had to trim it a bit. It took a bit of time to make the template, but then I just used that to trace the others ... so it was quick going after that.

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  4. Great idea with the magnets. Mine get buried under the piles all the time too.

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  5. OMGosh, the magnet idea is BRILLIANT! I've been looking at my metal desk and wondering how I could jazz it up, but keep it relevant. Thank you for sharing the step-by-step instructions.

    I think I have a weekend project!
    ReadWriteSing

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  6. I love your posts this week. I look forward to reading them every day!

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  7. LOVE the magnet idea!!

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  8. What a great idea! I too am a piler! Love the magnet idea going on my pinterest .....I have now been back a week! Feel free to pass more ideas for pilers!

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  9. I also just used the board to make a template and traced the remainder papers. I made small boards that are simple to stick in a bag or grab for meetings for all the new teachers in our building! Love yours, so colorful!
    I do want to point out though the word "conferencing" is used a lot in our teaching world, but most of us are not aware that it isn't a word at all! A conference is a noun, confer is the verb. We have conferring notes. I wish there was a way to educate all our educators of this.

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  10. I'm not a crafter, but you have really inspired me with this project! Thanks so much for posting!
    Warmly,
    GracehopperLearning

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  11. Those are so cute! I was recently inspired to make-over some clip boards too and gave them to a friend who teaches kindergarten. I love yours! I might try some stripes on the next one I make. Thanks for sharing.
    http://www.firstgradefoundme.blogspot.com

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