DIY Project 3: Memo board guestbook...

On Sunday I posted a teaser with the photo above. Well, here it is, my Friday night DIY project…our memo board guest book.



Originally I had planned to use a lantern that I had found at Target as a sort of “wish jar” guest book. My plan was to use frosted glass spray paint to put our monogram on the glass. Then I was inspired by these photos found on Markessaxo’s wedding blog, and immediately I had a new plan. The lantern was a bit more rustic than most other aspects of our wedding, and the finished memo board definitely has more of that modern-vintage look that I love.

For those of you who saw Miss Cupcake’s post, A Different Kind of Guestbook, will know that I am not the only one to be inspired by these photos taken by the talented Sarah K Chen. If you have read Miss Cupcake’s post, then you will see that my instructions are very similar…but I definitely did a few things differently, so please read on.

My memo board supplies…

• 36x24” frame
• 2-20x30” foam core boards
• duct tape
• box cutter
• 1-12x12”chipboard
• 36x45” batting material (I used 3 layers of 1/8” quilter’s batting because it was on clearance. I would definitely recommend 3/8” to 1/2” of batting total.)
• spray adhesive
• drop cloth
• scissors
• 1 yard of fabric (make sure the width of the fabric is at least 40”)
• painter’s tape
• stapler & staples (& staple remover for mistakes!)
• marker, pen, or pencil
• ribbon (I used 2 colors)
• straight pins (optional)
• buttons (optional)
  
  

steps 1-3

1. Tape two foam core boards together on both sides.

2. Trace photo mat from frame onto both sides of the foam core. Using the box cutter, slice along the lines on the foam core. Once the lines are sliced on both sides, you should be able to break off the excess foam core.

3. Once the board is to size use the duct tape to tape chipboard over the seams on both sides of the board (this will help sturdy it during the rest of the steps).

Hey! What's going on here?!?

4. Cover your work surface with some form of drop cloth. Open the spray adhesive and batting. (Ensure your spray adhesive is equipped with a spray nozzle!)

step 5

5. Spray the board with spray adhesive and flatten out one layer of batting on the board. Cut to size. Repeat this if you are using multiple layers of batting (like I did).

step 6 & 7

6. Stretch the fabric over the batting. I used painter’s tape here to help hold down the edges of the fabric while I pulled it taught and stapled it down.

7. Use a marker/pen/pencil to evenly space marks along the sides of the board to show where you will anchor the ribbons. Since my board was 24x36” I made a mark every 6 inches on all sides. If you are using just one 20x30” board, you would want to mark the edges every 5 inches.

Thanks Miss P!

8. When you find your dog chewing on the roll of tape you lost, thank her/him kindly for helping you find it. :)

ribbon spacing trial 1

I had a little trouble figuring out the spacing for the ribbons in order to get the angle I wanted, so I will do my best to explain what I did. On the first attempt (pictured above), I had one end of ribbon no. 1 anchored at the corner of the board, with the other end anchored at the 18” mark on the bottom of the board. (I used the stapler to anchor the ribbon on the back of the board) I proceeded to attach the other ribbons in their proper six inch increments. This created kind of a rhombus-like diamond effect. Once I had the majority of the ribbons place I realized that this was not the look I wanted. My inspiration photo had more of a square-like diamond shapes with 90 degree angles where the ribbons crossed. (Okay, for you geometry geeks out there, I know that a square is a rhombus, but I didn’t know how else to explain it. For those of you in need of a quick geometry lesson, click here.)

ribbon spacing trial 2

On the second trial I placed the ribbons so that one end was at the corner and the other was at the 24 inch mark on the opposite side. This is the way to go.

9. Place the first ribbon so that the ends are the same distance apart as the shortest side of the board. For example, my board is 24x36”, so one end of the ribbon is at the 0” mark on one side of the board, and the other is at the 24” mark on the opposite side. If you have a standard 20x30” board you would want one end at 0” and the other at 20”. (I hope that makes sense!) When placing the second set of ribbons (going the opposite direction), weave the ribbons over and under to create a more interesting visual effect.

back of finished board

Finished! (Well, almost.)

10. Once all of the ribbons are anchored down in the correct places, pop the finished board into the frame.

In order to create a quilted look, I placed coins on the crossover points of the ribbons, and played with them until I had a pattern I liked. Then I went back and used small straight pins to secure the ribbons in place. Eventually I will glue vintage looking buttons over the pins. Adding the pins/buttons will help to sturdy the ribbons to hold cards or photos(make sure they get pinned into the foam core not just the batting. I am also thinking of adding a small silk flower or two to the board for more decoration.

I hope these directions are some help to anyone who wants to use something like this as a guest book. I am a very visual person, so I really like the idea of being able to see all of the notes that people leave for us. Also, anyone interested will be able to read through what others had to say at any point in the evening. After the wedding I will probably put the cards into a photo album or scan them and use them as images in a digital scrapbook.

Look for instructions on how to make vintage looking postcards for guests to sign coming soon!

UPDATE! You can see the finished memo board {here}, and the vintage looking postcards {here}.