Memo Board: from Not to Hot!

I have had these memo boards for about 10 years. When I had a "desk job" they brightened my cubicle and since I started working from home they have become décor in my stepdaughter's room. They have never really gone with any of our stuff, though, and I am really trying to give Hannah a fresh, fun room in our new house. I thought I was going to just garage sale these, but once I started putting furniture back in after painting the room I realized that I really needed something fun for the walls.

It was about this time I realized I had 2 pretty, bright floral fat quarters that would look so pretty against the crisp, pink walls. After a little rummaging I found so fun yellow ribbon and a package of nylon butterflies to use for tufting. Armed with my glue gun, my fat quarters, and my finds I was ready to start.

Step One: Remove hardware, tufting buttons, etcetera to prepare board. Iron fabric.

Step Two: Lay out fabric and center memo board on it. Starting in one corner, apply glue along back edge of board, 3 or 4 inches at a time, and fold fabric up and over the edge while pulling taught and pressing into glue. At corners you will want to fold corner in first and secure with glue, then bring up the edge of the fabric and secure.

Step Three: Time to apply the ribbon! I kept the original tufting in place, simply removing the hardware, so I followed the original lines. Basically I started with a big "X", securing the ribbon on the back of the board with hot glue. Then I ran a piece of ribbon across each corner from the mid-point on the width to the mid-point on the height of the board.

Step Four: Re-tuft your board. The basic tufting remained in place, but I did need to get the new fabric and ribbon to comply, so I just took my standard stapler and pushed one staple down through the ribbon and fabric in each of the tufting places. If you need to properly tuft your board, I would recommend using a staple gun or flat push pin. I was too lazy for that on this project (plus I don't have a staple gun).

Step Five: Embellish! I put a big glob (yes, it's a technical term) of hot glue on each tuft and applied a little nylon butterfly to each. So cute!