DIY Designing: Clip It On

Today's the launch of a new column -- DIY Designing. I'll walk you step by step through fun do-it-yourself projects I've done in my house. First up: Clip it on.

This idea isn't completely original. I've seen this project on many of the blogs I read and it was too good to pass up. The basic idea is putting clipboards up to serve as little inspiration boards in your office, craft room, etc. With a new blog (and blank space above my desk) I need plenty of inspiration.

The first step: survey the scene. While I originally planned on putting up six boards (2 rows of 3), my office has a double chair rail. The top row of boards would have been much to high to use and the look would be imbalanced, so I settled for just one row of three. Take-away lesson: do what works best for your space.

After making sure the desk was centered on the wall where I wanted it



I carefully measured the width of the space. Then I measured the width of the clipboards to determine how much space would be between the clipboards.

For all you English majors, here's a quick example. Say my wall space is 50 inches and each clipboard is 9.

9 x 3 =27.

50 - 27 = 23

23/2 = 11.5

So there would be 11.5 inches between each clipboard. There are a couple of more math steps necessary for the placement of the nail holes, but if you are interested in that just leave a comment and I'll walk you through it. I won't bore the rest of you.

So anyway, here's the shot of my wall with the nail holes up. I definitely recommend having a laser level when hanging a series of pictures or clipbaords.



After checking to make sure everything was measured correctly and nails were lined up, I hung up the boards on a little metal pieces on top. Note: when choosing which clipboards to use, make sure there is some way to hook them onto the wall. My choice was a $.97 wood board from Wal-Mart.





Looking good! All you have left to do is put up your inspiration pieces; I choose pages from magazines. You can also clip on swatches of fabric and paint chips to create a custom mood board. Have kids? This is a great way to display artwork because it's easy to change out.





Grand total of Clip It On = $2.91 and about 20 minutes.

So there you have it! The first edition of DIY Designing!

Have great ideas you want to see featured on this column? Leave a comment below.