Photographs, postcards, cute delivery notes, doodles and so much more – you name it and I’ve kept it. I’ve always been a visual person and it pains me to throw these tiny ‘artworks’ away. For years I’ve been keeping them all in a little box (ok … a big box), just waiting to work out what to do with them. Whilst you CAN frame photos and postcards, I don’t necessarily want to buy *another* frame every time my Auntie sends you a cute card – I’d have no wall space left!
I wanted a temporary, cheap and easy solution for my paper scraps and the obvious choice was right in front of me, a noticeboard. Duh Holly! Whilst I didn’t have room for a large pin board, I could definitely use a small one – rotating my scraps as new ones came in – giving each one its moment in the spotlight. Eeekkk how lovely, I set out to look for one… After a while searching for a mini board, and nothing quite hitting the mark, I decided to take it into my own hands and today’s DIY was born. My very own mini cardboard noticeboard – super quick to make, super cheap to make and recyclable when I’ve finished with it or pinned one to many holes. I hope you enjoy making this little DIY as much as I did! I wonder what shape and pattern you will choose?
What you will need | Cardboard, Wrapping Paper, Scissors, Tape, Pencil, Hole Punch
Time to Craft | 15 minutes
First grab some cardboard. The thicker the better as you want to be able to pin into them going all the way through. Cardboard boxes from deliveries make the perfect base. Take your cardboard and decide what shape you would like your pin-board to be – then draw your shape. I went for an abstract wobbly shape, but you could do anything from a traditional square to a flower – it’s up to your imagination .
Once you’ve drawn out your shape, the next step is to get your scissors and simply cut it out. Try to be careful not to bend the shape, but don’t worry if you do as you’ll soon be able to flatten it out. Now grab your wrapping paper, check out the front of it to see which part of the design you’d like to feature and then lay your shape onto the back of it in this position.
Note that your shape will come out the opposite way around (right to left) to what you’re seeing on the back so make sure you are happy with the direction it is facing.
Once you’ve laid your shape onto the back of the wrapping paper and you are happy with its position, draw around it and then remove your cardboard. You’ll be left with an outline of your shape. Now, you need to draw another line 1-2cm away from this line all the way around your shape, don’t worry this doesn’t need to be too accurate. See above for how mine ended up!
Next take your wrapping and cut around the second line you drew, when you lay your cardboard onto it, the paper should stick out around the edge, as above. After you’ve done this take your paper shape and cut slits between your second and first line at a right angle, creating tabs around the edge of your paper shape – see above for how it should look. Make your slits approx 1-1.5cm apart. The rounder the shape, the closer the slits should be to create a smooth edge to your finished noticeboard.
Now, lay your cardboard back onto your paper within the first lines and gradually fold your tabs in, securing each one with a little piece of tape. Initially, fold your tabs in at opposite points around your shape to secure the cardboard. Once you’ve done this a few times, you can just go all the way around. I used paper tape to make this a plastic-free DIY, with a top tip being to cut lots of little pieces before-hand.
Now, we’re nearly there with your finished noticeboard. If you are planning on hanging it up, the final step is to use a hole punch to punch a hole at the top – these also look great just propped up on a shelf so you may not even need to do this. Then, all that is left to do is pin everything onto your lil’ board and admire your handiwork! I love how this came out and it has made the cutest addition to my shelf. I actually think these would make the cutest little presents, especially if you added a few cute pictures, stickers and pins into the gift bag!
What will you be hanging on your mini-noticeboard?
