updating old school clipboards

say 'clipboard' and everyone pictures part of a computer function.

in my office, it refers to the Old School style ACTUAL clipboards.

sure, i use digital photography, social media, web platforms, and digital files.

but in the course of blogging and designing spaces for retailers & show vendors,

i also use a lot of hand-drawn sketches, doodled/scribbled ideas, and notes.

a LOT of doodles and notes. and they pile up.

for years, i've used shallow wire baskets to corral the paper landslide. 

(another old school organization method) but it always looks messy.

 while cleaning, i spied several old wood clipboards that my Dad had used in his warehouse...

and an idea began percolating:

make these look good, and they'd sure come in handy for holding file folders.

and y'know, they really do! i use them every day now.

continue reading to see how fast this project was...

this is how the clipboards looked a few years ago,

 when i used them to hold my hand-lettered wall art here in my studio.

i had some options when it came to making them look better -

spray painting them, painting them with chalkboard paint, or covering them with paper. 

since i have a lot of paper on hand, i went for that option.

honestly, this was easier than wrapping a gift - because i used gift wrap!

(btw, i get a lot of gift wrap at Dollar Tree. it's lightweight, but still great for crafts)

i traced the clipboard onto the wrapping paper, cut the shape out,

used a glue stick to glue the paper to the clipboard - while cutting around the metal clip as i went.

then i added a small ribbon tie to each one, along with a tiny magnet just for fun.

the clipboards can sit on my desk in an overlapping row:

or hang on the wall (or a weathered wood door panel) via a simple pushpin: 

the paper detritus for each project is now contained in brightly colored pocket folders,

and the clip keeps it all closed (no matter how much i cram in there!)

it works great for my purposes - and i thought it might just be a HUGE help 

to those of you homeschooling and working from home right now!

as you can see, this was not a lot of work, but resulted in a lot of functionality.

some days, we just need to be able to feel like we got SOMETHING accomplished.

projects like this are perfect for those times when plan A becomes plan Z.

______________________________

which brings me to the whole truth: this wasn't supposed to be today's post. 

i completed some fun outdoor projects this past weekend, 

and was planning to pick up the last detail for them this morning, then shoot photos.

but instead of the sunny, bright days we've had lately, 

today is cloudy, REALLY windy, and gloomy outside. not at all photogenic.

and i'm kinda' worried about some of the props blowing away.

so, i am simply waiting another day (or two) to get the photos that these projects deserve

before i blog about them.

this is me, adjusting from plan A to plan Z! (feels like that a lot lately, huh?)