This Design Foam clipboard is a great way to show notes, photos, and paper mementos. Design foam can be used for a variety of decorations, but I was challenged to make something organizing related. I made mine with one section of Design Foam, which leaves plenty remaining for other projects. This is going in my daughter’s room (colors chosen to coordinate), to help her keep track of school projects, social stuff, and homework. It hangs on the wall. The clips are placed, so they can easily open to be used. The fabric is Oly*Fun which doesn’t fray, making it perfect for this no-sew project. Oly*Fun is available in 18 colors and the clips are painted, so this project can be made to coordinate with any decor.
SKILL LEVEL: Beginner
TIME: 60-90 minutes – This is mostly drying time
SUPPLIES:
- Design Foam Pull Apart Soft Tiles in Rectangles – I used one square
- Oly*Fun Grab & Go Pack in Blueberry
- Scissors
- 8 Wood Clothespins
- Acrylic paint in various colors
- A small flat paint brush
- A small soft detail brush
- A palette – I use an old plastic plate
- Water and paper towels – To clean the brushes in between colors
- Wax paper
- E6000 glue – Hot glue will melt the foam, but E6000 won’t
- (OPTIONAL) Mod Podge – I like the matte finish of the dried paint on the clips. If you want, you can seal the clips using Mod Podge Matte, Satin, or Gloss and a paint brush, before glueing them to the Oly*Fun wrapped Design Foam.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Pull apart one square tile from the rest of the square tiles. Leave the backing on for now.
2) Lay the square face down onto the Oly*Fun fabric. Pull the fabric up around the sides, until it overlaps the back about 1/2″. Use the scissors to cut this square of fabric.
3) Remove the foam backing paper. Pull the fabric up evenly around the sides and press it onto the back. At the corners, fold the fabric smoothly.
4) Cut a piece of Oly*Fun 1″ wide by 7″ long.
5) Fold the strip, and stick the two ends on the center back of one edge. Apply a little E6000 to glue the ends in place.
6) Set the now wrapped square onto another piece of Oly*Fun fabric, with the sticky side down, lining up a corner of the fabric with a corner of the design foam. Cut around the square. Trim back the fabric a little, so it doesn’t stick out beyond the back.
7) Smooth the fabric on the back. Some of it will not stick around the edge because of the wrapped Oly*Fun. Apply E6000 glue around the sides of the backing and press in place. Lay the foam back side down onto a piece of wax paper. This will keep it all flat while it dries.
8) Pour a little of each selected paint color onto your palette (plate). Using your flat paint brush, paint the clothespins on all sides and ends, switching colors as needed. Clip them onto a strip of wax paper. Let them dry on another piece of wax paper.
9) To make the clothespins more interesting, use the small detail paint brush to add designs to one side. These can be simple stripes, dots, and basic shapes. You can do them all the same design or different ones. Let them dry on the wax paper
10) OPTIONAL: Using a flat paint brush and your desired finish of Mod Podge, seal all painted sides of the clothespins by painting on the Mod Podge. You’ll need to do this in stages, as it takes a few minutes for the Mod Podge to dry. Make sure to wash your paint brush well, as Mod Podge is a glue that can mess up the brushes if not rinsed out well. Let them dry completely.
11) Lay your clips onto the front of the Oly*Fun wrapped Design Foam, with just the clip end hanging off the edge. The spring bars of the clothespins should line up with the edge of the wrapped foam.
12) Apply a little E6000 glue to the back of the clothespins along the handle. Press firmly in place onto the Oly*Fun. E6000 fully cures in about 24 hours, so leave it to dry overnight before hanging or using the clips.
I made a small version, but Design Foam comes in bigger sizes in both soft and rigid. All of the Design Foam as a sticky base, which makes wrapping it easy. You could make larger clipboards using larger Design Foam and more clips. For a bigger clipboard, the rigid Design Foam is ideal. For a variation of the French Memo Board I made, you could use soft Design foam layered onto a piece of foam-core or wood, instead of what I used. Get creative with it and make this project to fit your needs. Happy Makery!
