The Crazy Simple Life

French memo boards have become really popular in the last couple years. Pictures and mementos just look so sweet tucked behind lines of ribbon over an upholstered board. I wanted to make one for the baby's room, but couldn't find a good tutorial. (Nor could I find one where I felt the results were worth the effort!) So, I figured out how to make one myself. This French memo board is much sturdier than ones made with art canvases and has a nice tufted appearance too. It would look great hung in a bedroom, office, or kitchen. Here's how to do it.

Materials:

1/2 inch plywood cut to desired dimensions (Mine is 24" x 20")

Piece of fabric that is 8 inches longer and 8 wider than your plywood

Piece of thick polyester batting that is 7 inches longer and 7 inches wider than your plywood

Ribbon (I used 5/8" wide satin ribbon)

Buttons (I made fabric covered buttons. You can find a craft button kit in the notions department of your local craft or sewing store. You want the ones with a shank, if you go this route)

Staple gun

Hot glue gun

Wall mounting hardware (I prefer the alligator teeth with nails)

1) Fold the edges of the fabric down about 1/2 inch and iron. This is not completely necessary, but I think it helps reinforce the fabric when you staple it and makes the back look a little neater.

2) Lay the fabric wrong side up on your work surface. Cover with the batting. Center the plywood on the batting. You should have about 3 inches of fabric/batting extending beyond the edges of the plywood.

3) Time to staple your fabric. Grab the middle of one side of the fabric/batting and fold it over the edge of the plywood. Pull fairly tight and staple in place. Now, WAIT! Grab the fabric/batting in the same area on the opposite side of the board and staple it in place. You should have two sides with one staple each. Do the same for the two unstapled sides. Continue working in this manner, staple - opposing staple, until all the fabric has been neatly turned over the edge and the sides look smooth.

4. Turn the board over so that the fabric pattern is face up. Start laying your ribbon out and deciding what you want your diamond pattern to look like. Focus on having a centered diamond and work out from there. (As you can see, I should have been more careful about this!) Use a marking pen to make dots at locations where the ribbons will cross.

In my design, I have the marks about 6 inches apart horizontally

5. Get your pieces of ribbon cut and arranged on the board. Staple where the ribbons cross. (It can be helpful to have another person hold the ribbons in the right orientation for this.) Pull the extra ribbon over the edge and staple to the back.

6. Use a hot glue to gun to secure the buttons over the staples. If the shank is too long, you can use a hammer to bend it down a little.

7. Turn the board over and put on your mounting hardware. You may need one or two pieces depending on the size of your board. I used two.