Guest Post: Holiday Board

I am Kimberly and I blog over at Bugaboo, Mini, Mr. & Me. 

I’m a fair bit giddy to be guest posting here.  It’s kind of like when Johnny Depp just happens to film a movie in your little picturesque town and you get to go meet him, so you swear you’re totally going to play it cool and be like, ‘’Hey”. But then he shakes your hand over the rope and you pretty much pass out. Don’t worry, though.  I brought along a paper bag so I won’t hyperventilate….

Beckie has asked me to show you all how to make my completely customizable, alterable, changeable, magic holiday board.

That is my Thanksgiving version.  Right now, my holiday board looks like this:

Supplies:

A small 2×4 cut to the length you’d like. 

Spray paint

hammer

sandpaper

Plain white tissue paper

Tape A computer/printer

Mod Podge (glossy or matte)

Ceramic Tiles (whatever size you’d like – enough to make at least THREE tiles per holiday)

E6000

Leaf paper punch (optional)

Colored tissue paper (optional)

SECRET INGREDIENT (to be disclosed later)

Other necessities, like pen, scissors, paint brush

1. Take your white tissue paper and cut a piece slightly smaller than a normal 8 1/2” x 11” computer paper. Lay it as flat and unwrinkly as possible on top of a piece of computer paper and tape down all the edges.  I suggest normal Scotch tape.

Now, load it into your printer so that your image will print on the tissue paper.  Print out your holiday design. 

Now, measure the tissue paper and mark it with a pen so it will fit exactly as you want it to on the tile. Cut it to size.

Grab a tile and spread Mod Podge all over it. Carefully lay your tissue paper design on the tile, starting with one corner and working your way diagonally across the tile.

See how it’s all wrinkly?  That’s ok.  That’s what we want.

Now, gently pat it down – especially over those wrinkles and such. If you’ve got a tile with dents and rough spots, use it in your design. 

Brush over the top of it with a little Mod Podge.

When it is dry, you can’t see the tissue paper, just the colored design you created!

Fold your tissue paper up and punch out some leaves.  It’s necessary to fold it first, as the punch won’t work on one layer. 

When you’ve punched out all your leaves, spread Mod Podge on a corner of one of the tiles. Begin laying your leaves down randomly. When you get the look you like, Mod Podge over the top. Add a falling leaf or two.

For this time of year, you could very easily do a Christmas or winter theme using the same design – just use a Christmas quote instead and snowflake or other Christmas paper punch!)

Let all the tiles dry for at least a few hours.

Now grab a piece of wood. Spray paint it whatever color you’d like.  Now beat it up a little bit to distress it.  Use sandpaper and a hammer.  Pay special attention to areas that would normally get wear and tear, like corners and edges.

And how do we make this board changeable according to holiday?

I will now introduce you to our SECRET INGREDIENT (this is totally where I cheated by the way).

That’s right.  3M Velcro picture hanging strips.  Lay out your tiles and measure and mark where you’ll need to place the strips, first on the tile, then on the wood.  Plan on at least two strips per tile.

And because the backs of your tiles are NOT flat add some E6000 glue on the strips. Lay the strips where you marked, and add clamps to really keep things in place.  Leave this overnight so it dries really well.

Now you can place your tiles,

and hang!

How about some Christmas tiles?

I used the same tissue paper/Mod Podge technique for these, but I used slightly smaller tiles for everything but the stable. 

See how many different versions you can do?

How about Valentine’s day?  Same technique, again, but a big huge 9”x11” tile in the middle there.  I also glued the Velcro strips to the back on an angle, so they’d hang with a tilt.

And since there are a few times during the year when we aren’t in holiday mode, here’s a design for everyday.

As for display possibilities, don’t even get me started! 

There’re a few reasons why I like this holiday decoration, but the biggest ones are ease and storage.  I haven’t got a ton of storage space, and with this ONE item I can decorate for every holiday without needing lots of wreaths and bins and boxes!