Memo Board Tutorial

Recently I came across this fab Gingerbread Cotton Material on Etsy and I knew I just had to have it. Some ladies like Make-up and Handbags, I love material and paint. Below you will find a Memo Board Tutorial so you can make your own.

Memo Board Tutorial

Memo Board Tutorial

The nicest thing about crafting is that it can take you away from a hectic day and relax. When I have had a really busy day trying to look after Hailey and help the boys I like to escape for an hour or so and craft my stress away. Luckily Hailey loves to craft too so working on craft projects together is the perfect way to spend some special time making memories with my gorgeous girl.

Of course Hailey also loves Gingerbread men and when she saw this fab fabric it went straight into her craft box. I am so glad I have passed on a love of crafting and painting as it is so therapeutic and rewarding when you make something special that will bring a smile to someone’s face.

Hailey helped me make the Gingerbread Memo board for her own room one evening and when I saw how lovely it looked I made another for myself. I found the Memo Board so useful to keep track of all the Boy’s appointments as they are all so important I don’t want to miss them.

I decided to create a Memo Board Tutorial to help you make one for your self as they are super easy and so rewarding when you see your hard work hanging in your home for all to see. So let’s get to it!

Memo Board Tutorial – Materials

craft materials

Materials-

The Memo Board I have used for this Tutorial can be found in most Tesco Stores in the Stationary Section. It cost €4.99 and is actually super big. The main reason I chose to use this one is that it doesn’t have the wooden edges most Memo Board will have. I liked that it was smooth from corner to corner without any raised edges. Perfect for adding material over seamlessly.

Materials
Craft materials.

You can purchase the cotton material in most Haberdasheries. For this Tutorial I bought the Cotton Material in Guineys of Castlebar. The Gingerbread Fabric you see as a Featured Image on my post was purchased on Etsy. You can use any cotton fabric you would like to suit your own tastes.

If you are going to craft regularly then a Hot Glue Gun is a must! You will use it in almost all craft projects. The one I use is made by ‘Stanley’ and is suitable for heavy duty work along with craft projects. Mandels’ Art Shop in Castlebar carries craft Glue Guns which I have used before and I think they were around €10 and came with glue sticks. Craft Glue Guns are great for anyone starting out, just remember that the tip of the Glue Gun becomes extremely hot and you can burn yourself very quickly if not careful.

I have found many super glue products excellent but the one I use most often because of it’s consistency is UHU.

The Wooden Letters I used for this project came from Art & Hobby in Galway and they cost €12.99 for a full set of Alphabet Letters. Mandels’ Art Shop in Castlebar also carries a huge range of craft letters so pop in when you are next in town to get yours.x

Craft letters
Craft Letters

The paint you use can be Acrylic or if you do not use paints a lot you could use children’s craft paints and seal them afterwards with PVA glue so that the paint will stay on permanently.

Mandels’ Art Shop in Castlebar is my go-to place for almost all of my crafty makes. They have a huge selection of paints to offer and a wealth of knowledge to go with it. Whenever I need craft advice on a new project I go straight to Mandels and they always have the answer. The Paint I used in this Tutorial was given to me  in a set as a gift by a very thoughtful friend so I am not sure where it was purchased but if you go into Mandels they will have the perfect paint to match your chosen material. Be sure to bring your material with you so they can help you chose your perfect paint.

Memo Board Tutorial – 7 Easy Steps

Memo Board Tutorial
Memo Board Tutorial

Step 1-

Wear old clothes when using acrylics as the paints are permanent.

When I am crafting I do not have a huge amount of time to spare (Jack will always come in to pull his mammy away for cuddles) so I try to use my time as best I can. In this case the painted letters need the most concentrated attention because of the detailing (you can add as much or as little as you like). When painting Letters I always paint the edging first, ensure you evenly paint both sides of the letters when painting the edges. If you do not smoothly paint the timber both sides when doing the edging you will end up with blobs of dried in paint that will ruin your finish.

Next, paint the front of your chosen letters and leave on top of an object such as a cup/glass to dry. This helps the Timber to dry double quick as air is reaching both sides. While you are waiting for the paint to dry carry on with the next step being sure to come back later to follow the rest of Step 1.

Once your Letters are dry, turn them over and paint half way down on the rear of the letters. You do not need to paint all the way down as the bottom half of the letters will be covered by the fabric they will be glued to. Leave to dry in the same manner as you did the top side of the letters, this time ensuring you have the side with wet paint facing up.

Now both sides are dry you can add in your detailing. As I love polka dots I hand-painted white polka dots on to mine and left to dry.

Use Acrylic Paint
Use Acrylic Paint

Step 2-

material
Measuring how you material

Now that your painted letters are drying, you can go and prepared your Cotton Material. The Tesco Memo Board I purchased is 40cm x 40cm translating in inches to just shy of 16in x 16in. When purchasing material you need to ensure you have over the 16 inches squared as you will want to have enough to fold over the sides and glue down neatly. I would recommend using a 19 inches squared piece of Material as this will give you plenty of room for error when cutting and also enough room to neatly fold down the edges so that the rear of your Memo Board is smooth and neat, helping it to hang evenly on your chosen surface.

Step 3-

Edges
Tidy up the edges.

Once you have cut your material down to size, you need to go about tidying up the edges, for two reasons-

1- You don’t want to give a gift that looks horrible on the back but beautiful on the front

2- You want to ensure it will hang evenly on your chosen surface.If the rear not evenly glued down you will end up with lumps of material and this will look very unprofessional and untidy when hanging.

I like to have left enough material when cutting so that I can fold over the material twice. Once to hide the initial frayed edges and then one more time to glue down evenly.

Step 4-

Add hot glue one section at a time
Add hot glue one section at a time

Turn your glue gun on and leave on top of a surface such as an old newspaper to heat up. Many glue guns when heating up will drip glue from their tip so you do not want a good surface to be ruined with glue.

Once you glue gun is heated you can begin gluing down the material edges you have prepared. When I am gluing down the material I chose two opposite sides to work on first as the Memo Board is a square,  so that the material will glue down evenly.

Do not glue one side all in one go. Glue in stages, not in one great big strip as the glue will dry quickly so you want to make sure as you are gluing your are almost straight away pressing down your finished edges to ensure a good fixed state.

Once you have both of your chosen opposite sides complete you are ready to do the corners.

Step 5-

Fold in the corners.
Fold in the corners.

In order for the Memo Board to hang evenly you have to make sure that the corners are tucked in properly. To do this you fold the corners on each side in at a 90 degree angle, using hot glue to fix down the material into a 90 degree angle and again afterwards  to affix it to the rear of the Memo Board.

Step 6-

Once you have all the material glued down you will then add ribbon to the back to hang. You can choose any ribbon you like but I would normally try to match it up to a colour that is in my chosen material. 

Step 7 –

The final step and of course I forgot to take a picture lol! Lay your Memo Board on a Flat steady surface, facing upwards. Take each letter you want to have on your Memo Board and add your super glue on the rear of the letter about half way down. Take your letters and press each one with the glue side facing your Memo Board , on to the Board. Once all are in place leave somewhere safe to dry for a few hours.

I added extra ribbon around the Memo Board for this tutorial using my hot glue gun. You can add as much or as little detailing as you like.

Finished Memo Board, a perfect gift for a lovely friend.x
Finished Memo Board, a perfect gift for a lovely friend.x

I hope you found this Memo Board Tutorial helpful.xx I have more of these fab Memo Boards to make for friends and family as gifts so I will update the pictures (well the ones I forgot to take lol!) when I make more.

Little Puddins

Thank you for stopping by. 

18 Comments

  • Kellie Kearney October 7, 2015 at 9:00 am

    Brilliant little tutorial, it looks fab and so simple to make. Would really brighten up an room!

    • Amanda Mc Guinness October 7, 2015 at 10:01 am

      It really is super easy and a craft you can do with little people aswell.xx Thank you for stopping byxx

  • LadyNicci October 7, 2015 at 4:04 pm

    This is soooo pretty! Love it. Would brighten up any room. We have a faded old board in our kitchen. You are putting me to shame 🙂

    • Amanda Mc Guinness October 9, 2015 at 10:36 pm

      lol! I have had some rotten looking notice boards over the years lol but love my new one so much 😀 x

  • You baby me mummy October 7, 2015 at 5:43 pm

    This looks great, so useful. What a fab tutorial, it would be easy to follow x

  • Linda October 7, 2015 at 7:21 pm

    I absolutely love this! Love the way you’ve added the letters and gingerbread fabric too. I’d love to have this in my crafting space. They’re make fab Christmas presents too

    • Amanda Mc Guinness October 9, 2015 at 10:35 pm

      They totally would! And super easy to make! I bought the fabric on Etsy so if you go there you may be able to get some for your self.x

  • Becky, Cuddle Fairy October 7, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    Ah what a nice surprise for your friend!! I’d love to be given one of these boards. It looks relatively easy to make too – great steps & your ginger bread men & ladies are so cute. I’m getting in the Christmas spirit lately & they are pushing me along lol 🙂 x

    • Amanda Mc Guinness October 9, 2015 at 10:33 pm

      It really is so easy to make 😀 I have a few more to make now for friends who want me to make them after they saw my tutorial.x LOVE Christmas and gingerbread men so it is a great combination.x

  • Sarah October 8, 2015 at 8:10 am

    This is awesome! I actually think I could do this! I might give it a try. My little ones would quite like to join in too I’m sure 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us xx

    • Amanda Mc Guinness October 9, 2015 at 10:32 pm

      It is super easy to do!! Hailey (7) helped me make one for her own room.x

  • Ana De- Jesus October 9, 2015 at 7:19 am

    I love this idea so much and it is perfect for the Christmas season. Thank you for sharing it with us!

    • Amanda Mc Guinness October 9, 2015 at 10:31 pm

      Thank you so much Ana, looking forward to your next Blog Post.x

  • Eimear October 10, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    I love this, I did something similar before but it was material liver canvas, this would be far more useful than a piece of art, love it!

  • Michelle October 11, 2015 at 8:47 pm

    Wow this looks amazing. So bright and colourful. Would definitely brighten up any kitchen

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