A Quick and Easy DIY Cork Board

Since I posted about my inspirations for making over my home office space here I've been very motivated and focused to get the process started.  So far I've managed to collect the artwork I plan to hang, and I believe I may have finally found my storage solution (that will be saved for a later post though).  As I have been contemplating the functionality of this space, and planning the wall arrangement for my artwork and photos I realized I could really use a cork board on the wall as well to keep important items in plain sight.  I needed a long and skinny one, however, to hang just above the desk, but below everything else.  I searched around online and could not find anything quite the right shape or size.  

With inspiration from this Pottery Barn organization collection, as well as this Young House Love post in the back of my mind I realized I could easily make exactly what I wanted myself.  

I found the same 4 pack of square cork boards at Target used in the YHL post for about $7.  I also luckily had an old long, skinny, white picture frame hiding in the back of one of my closets, unused for several years.

I removed the mat and the glass from the frame.  Then, using the backing as my template I marked my cork squares to the correct width.

I could not find an exacto knife in my home, so I used regular scissors to cut the cork, which worked just fine.  I would recommend an exacto knife, though, if you have one for a cleaner cut.

I then placed the cork pieces inside the frame, and used the adhesive squares that came with the pack to adhere the frame backing.

And then VOILA!  An attractive, functional, custom cork board is born!

I still need to actually hang it, but you can get some idea of how it will look from this photo (and notice how much less cluttered it is since the photo from this post).  I can't wait to finish this makeover!

Have any of you made a custom cork board before?  What other small DIY projects have you tackled lately?

Monday Moodlifter: Deck the Halls!

Christmas is one week from tomorrow!  Kind of crazy really, it seems like December just started.  Every year we tell ourselves: "This is the year we'll really be on top of things and really decorate for the holidays!"  And typically we manage to do the basics, like put up a tree (even a table top one counts), and string around a few lights, H even gets as far as stockings.  We still never manage to go as all out as we would like, though, because before we know it the holidays have come and gone.  So, this post is really to help us prepare for next year.  Here are five adorable holiday decor ideas we love, and hope to use as a guide when we hit-up Target post Dec. 25 to snag some great decor items on sale.  Enjoy!

This adorable table set-up includes a sweet winter terrarium, which is actually super easy to make.  In fact there's no reason we couldn't put one of these together by next Monday for ourselves (assuming we can manage a trip to Michael's before then).  The tutorial can be found over on Kelle Hampton's blog Enjoying the Small Things.

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What a festive mantel!  Everything from the hanging stars, to the greenery and red and silver accents just shouts "JOY".  Even if you don't have a fireplace mantel, you could probably still create a similar look across a wall shelf, or even a console table.  There's no rule that stockings have to be hung from a fireplace.

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Again, this is such a simple idea we can't believe we haven't taken the time to put something like this together ourselves yet.  Simply use a large empty vase, or other glass container, and drop in extra ornaments that didn't fit on the tree.  You can use whatever color scheme you want, and place these anywhere around your home to add some extra cheer.

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Who doesn't love presents?  So why not use some for decoration!?  Just wrap up a few empty boxes with pretty paper and ribbon and place them in various spots around your home, but maybe not under your tree, that could get confusing.

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This idea actually has us a little teary-eyed, in a good way though.  How special and personal to use old family holiday photos to decorate at this time of year.  This is an especially sweet idea if your family can't all be together for the holiday.

Hopefully these have sparked some ideas for you guys!  We know we plan to pick up some extra ornaments and cheap vases once the sales start on Dec. 26 so we can actually be prepared next year. 

How do you decorate for the holidays?  Do you go all out, or are you more like us and are simply happy if you get the basics up in time?