3 A much happier bulletin board

Remember that super-cheap bulletin board I bought for Nadia's desk corner? No? Me neither, I've blocked the memories.

As soon as as I stepped out of the store I knew I had to do something about it. I thought of painting it, but other things got in the way and it just sat there in all its unimpresiveness for a while. And then I stumbled upon this cool idea by Monica from Crafty Nest: a patchwork covered board.

But while her idea necessitated that I disassembled the board and chopped it into pieces (her sewing machine was broken), I have a functioning sewing machine, so I took a turn in Alburquerque. So to speak.

First I measured the board carefully and came up with the number of pieces I wanted. Just a matter of taste here, but I went with 3 x 4 rectangles. I then added some allowance since I had to sew the pieces.

I made a cardboard rectangle the size of the fabric rectangles I'd use and marked the fabric with a vanishing ink marker. Then I cut all the pieces.

I arranged the pieces on top  of the board until I liked the arrangement (in the end I didn't use the central piece comprised of smaller rectangles). I then pinned the pieces to make sure I kept the right order while I sewed them.

I sewed the pieces together making sure I kept the flaps flattened-open when sewing over. That way there would be no bumps later. I've never quilted anything, so I supposed this is Quilting 101 for some of you.

I pressed the whole thing making sure the seams were really flat in the end.

I used the staple gun to secure it to the board. The cork is deep enough that the staples wouldn't pass through. I made sure the fabric was really taut.

I covered the staples with ribbon, which I glued with liquid silicone. I temporarily pinned the corners until they were dry and flat. Then I hung it back on the wall.

This is the fabric combination I used. Again, like the heart mobile, I pulled some of the same fabrics I used elsewhere in the bedroom.

Let's see the before:

Now after:

Isn't that much better?

Closer, again...

The photo on the board is Nadia when she was two and we came on vacation to PuntaCana.  We had no reason to think we'd end up living here. The postcard below is from my friend, the super-talented Amity. It's a very beautiful photo she took. Under Nadia's drawing, a tiny Dominican carnival mask.

Her bedroom is slowly turning into the super-girly-girl room she wants, and not a Disney princess anywhere (Please don't get mad at me if you decorated your whole house with a Pocahontas theme or something. I can still come over for lunch, right?.).

(Shared at the lovely parties linked here)