Technique Tuesday-Dry Erase Shaker Board

Hello there! I am trying to get back into the blogging groove (not that I was ever really in it very well before). The new year always finds me revamping the schedule and trying to figure out a way to do it all. It does get better each year as I realize what the "all" is that I really want to do and cutting out things I don't need to do. I would like to be better at posting fun tutorials on here. Sharing what I do is my favorite part of crafting. 

With that in mind, I put together this quick little tutorial for you. I enjoy making little dry-erase memo boards to give as gifts. They are a quick and inexpensive gift that you can personalize to teh recipient. All you need is some paper and a picture frame. I look for frames every time we stop by the thrift store. This time I decided to do something a bit different. The Paper Pumpkin kit for December makes some cute shaker cards for several different occasions so I used the kit to make my first dry-erase shaker memo board. The confetti adds a fun bit of whimsy to it.

Let's get started. For this project I used the December Paper Pumpkin kit and one of the thrift store frames in my stash.

I did use a sheet of Smoky Slate cardstock for the background instead of the Basic Gray that comes in the kit. I didn't want the background to be so dark you couldn't read the writing on the board. I started by putting the cardstock (cut to fit) in the frame and marking the corners. That way I knew where to put the decorations and where to make my inner frame.

The Paper Pumpkin kit always comes with most of the paper pieces shrink wrapped to a pretty sturdy piece of chipboard. I used this to make an inner frame to hold the background piece away from the glass and make room for the confetti. My cutter wouldn't cut all the way through, but I just made one cut, turned it over and cut in the same place on the other side. Worked perfect.

The small "hello" stamp from the set to made a background behind the photo frame. I wish I had already glued the inner frame on though as it might have helped me to center the photo frame better. Oops. :o( The blue "hello" is a sticker--so nice not to have to glue all those tiny edges down. I used a marker to ink up the word "friend" and stamped it below the "hello".

I used our Tombow multi adhesive to glue the inner frame on, but I could have used Fast Fuse just as well. The kit comes with several sheets of stars to punch out and some sequins to use for confetti. I just placed these in the middle.

I decided to use Fast Fuse to adhere the glass to the front before I slid it into the frame. I didn't want all my shaker pieces to fall out the bottom every time I moved the memo board.

This frame didn't come with a stand, but I wanted the option to be able to sit on a desk, so I cut more of the backing board to make one. More Tombow worked to adhere the top of it to the back.

There you have it. I simple little board to write notes on. I think I'm going to send this to a friend who is far away and every time she sees it she will know I am thinking of her. I might have to make a couple of these.

Hope you enjoyed my little tutorial. I plan to be back later this week with a sneak peak of a project for this month's Tips, Tools and Technique class.

Till next time...
God's love and blessings!