How to make an Altered
Clipboard!
Added: 2006/May/30
If you haven’t tried one of these yet you are in for a treat because they are fairly simple to make, yet end up as works of Art! Altered clipboards make super cool room decorations, great gifts for family and friends, or can also be created to use as an actual clipboard! Below you will find basic directions on how to make an altered clipboard, as well as pictures of different altered clipboards. Try making an altered clipboard using a favorite picture and then hang it on the wall next to your scrapping area for a little added inspiration!
Supplies needed:
- 1 Legal or Regular size clipboard (wood or plastic)
- Acrylic paint (whatever color you desire)
- Sandpaper
- Newspaper or cover for surface area
- 1 5x7 or larger picture of your choice
(pic can be vertical or horizontal) - 2-3 different pieces of patterned paper
- 1 sheet of cardstock color coordinated with patterned paper
(hint: black and white work well with almost any color!) - Embellishments like stickers, ribbon, die cuts, etc.. to decorate and accessorize your clipboard!
Prepping the clipboard:
Note: start by covering your surface area with newspaper or something to protect surface of work area.
- Paint back of clipboard if desired with acrylic paint (1 coat only
…unless you are planning on using the actual clipboard there is
no need to paint or completely cover the back….unless of course
it would just make you feel better! ) - let dry.
- Paint front of clipboard, making sure to paint clip last - let dry.
(Why paint clip last? By saving to the end, you can use your free hand to push the clip open so you can paint underneath. Then you can come back and paint the clip!)
- Then give front of clipboard second coat (do not re paint clip) -
let dry.
- After Clipboard and clip are completely dry, you can lightly sand
clip on clipboard for a cool distressed effect!
Note: if you are painting a dark colored clipboard, you may need to use more than two coats to completely cover it. Also, when painting the clipboard, it’s better to do 2-3 light coats as opposed to one really heavy coat.
Decorating your clipboard:
(You can begin getting everything cut and ready while waiting for clip board to dry!)
- Start by cutting a mat for your 5x7 photo from your cardstock.
Mat tip: if you make the mat around your picture wider rather than thinner, the clip will hold the picture better and allow to lay flatter. Suggested mat size: at least ¾ inch.
- Set your matted photo aside, pick your main patterned paper for the
background, and cut to fit front of board from directly underneath top
of clip, all the way to the bottom of the clipboard. Then adhere using
a strong adhesive like herma glue dots or double sided tape.....Or,
you can cut paper as desired, wrap around the back of the clipboard,
and then adhere using mod podge.
(Tip if using Mod Podge: Apply mod podge to bottom half of paper, adhere to clipboard starting from back of clipboard and wrapping around … then apply mod podge to rest of paper or board, and finish pasting paper down making sure to press hard as you go to help eliminate air bubbles. You might also want to have a brayer handy to help with those pesky air bubbles!)
- After putting on your first initial piece of patterned paper, add
as many papers as you desire to enhance your overall design. You will
not have to use as strong as of adhesive if you are just adhering patterned
papers to other patterned papers.
- After you have decorated your clipboard with papers of choice, simply
place matted picture under clip!
(If you place matted picture under clip without adhering, you will easily be able to change out the picture at any time!)
- Then it’s time to use all of those cool embellishments to put
the finishing touches on your clipboard!
- Last but not least… Admire your new altered clipboard!
Note: the instructions above are meant for an altered clipboard that is purely for decoration. If you would like to create an altered clipboard that you can use, leave out the lumpy embellishments, cover the whole clipboard (papers and picture) with a couple of coats of mod podge, and then coat entire clipboard with several coats of acrylic spray (can find this at Wal-Mart in hobby section)!
