Message Board

I love the idea of vision boards.  A vision board is a place where you can put your 'intentions', dreams and desires in life.  It's a place to post the things that are important to you.  If you follow my other two blogs, you will know that I like to compartmentalize my life and that's why I love this project. 

We all have different roles that we play, we are parents, spouses, individuals, employees etc. so this week's home craft idea is a message/vision board and is perfect for me to group different ideas or thoughts into separate frames.  It was inexpensive to make and didn't' take the whole day.  You can make one out of just a single frame rather than 4 different openings like mine.  Be creative, be resourceful and don't be afraid of messing it up...you can't!  Here are the steps below to create your own.

Start with a yard sale find...I got this for $5 at a thrift store.

Sand it down just enough to take the sheen off.  We were having a nice day so I did the work outside which made clean up a snap!

Mine had some gaps that needed to be patched before moving forward

Use a stain blocker primer before laying down the color you choose.  I am in love with the aqua and turquoise blues you see everywhere so I chose a light aqua as my base color

Once your base is dry, wet a cotton cloth and dip a small portion of it into a darker, accenting or contrasting color.  I choose a darker blue.  Rub the color along the edges of the frame.  If you get more color than you want, use the wet portion of the towel to wipe the excess off.

With the same cloth, dip an end in a very small amount of gel stain.  I chose a walnut color.  Rub this along the edges as well.

This creates depth in the piece giving it an aged look.

Next, measure the opening, cut an appropriate size of chicken wire then staple into place on the back side of the frame.

Done!  Use clothes pegs, or other clips to attach your photos, notes, to do lists etc to your board.  It's a fun way to get organized and I love the color!  This would also serve as a wonderful jewelry or hair accessory hanger. 

The total cost of this project was $6.  The frame was $5 and I got the paint from Ace Hardware where they were clearing out their Paint Pots for just $1.  The chicken wire, I already had on hand.  If you did have to buy chicken wire, you can pick it up a whole roll for under $5.  If you decide to try making your own, send me a picture of your finished project!