Yet again another amazing blogger is here to guest post for me! Amy (Ameroonie Designs) and I actually have a funny story! I have a sister in law with the EXACT same name first and last, same spelling. How often does that happen! It always trips me up whenever we email so now every time Amy sends me something she always includes “not your sister in law Amy” in the subject line. And I changed her name in my contact list to “Amy- Not my sister in law”. We meet at Jen’s (tatertots and jello) cookie exchange party in December. I fell in LOVE with the pom pom flower she had on her purse and I ended up making a TON of my own! For hair clips of course. Anyway I got to catch up a bit with Amy at Creative Estates a few weekends ago and I’m so glad she’s here today to share with us!
Hello, I’m Topsy Turvy readers! I’m Amy and I blog over at Ameroonie Designs! I am really a scatter brained crafter and I like to jump from craft to craft. Right now I seem to be in a pillow making rut- but man they are just so fun to make! I hope you’ll jump over and take a look around!
Ashlee is so kind to let me take some time over here, so I thought I’d share with you one of my very favorite projects. Embellished Clipboards! Covering a clipboard with paper is pretty easy, but I have found out a few tricks (after making dozens of these) that might come in handy. I use them all over my house and having them prettified makes it easier when using one to hold my “chore” chart. 
First you’ll need a clipboard, paper, mod podge, old credit card (or something to smooth out the paper, craft knife, emery board or sand paper, paint (optional) and ribbon (also optional)
If you decide you want to paint the clipboard (so the edges aren’t the kraft color, and if you don’t want the back plain) you will want to do that first and allow it to dry. On this one I liked the natural look of the MDF without the paint.
Next you’ll cut out the paper to fit the clipboard. It’s a good idea to make a template out of copy paper before you cut into your scrapbook paper, it will help with the adjustments for the “clip” part. A regular 12X12 piece of paper will be just short for a standard clipboard, so I like to use a coordinating piece to fill in the gap- at the top or the bottom, instead of trying to “piece” together a repeat in the pattern. I also cut the paper just a “smidge” (very technical) larger than the clipboard, it’s nice to have some “fudge” room when gluing the paper down. Do a test run with the paper to make sure you’re happy with the fit.
Cover the clipboard with a thin layer of Mod Podge and place your paper on top. This is where the credit card comes in handy to help smooth all the air bubbles out.
Let dry.
When it’s dry I like to take a craft knife around the edges and trim up the paper, it’s easier than trying to perfectly line up the edges from the beginning.
After the big pieces are cut off, go back with an emery board and file off any rough edges.
Put a coat of Mod Podge over the top, making sure to seal all the edges on the board. * if you get bubbles at this point DO NOT PANIC! they will go away, just allow it to dry for 24 hours. You will be tempted to mess with it, and mess with it, DON’T. Just trust me 99% of the time they dry out!
Take small 3-4 inch sections of coordinating ribbon and tie on the bar of the clipboard and you are done!
These are quick and fun to make in multiples. They also make great teacher appreciation gifts as well! So go pull out your favorite papers, grab some clipboards (I get mine at Wal-mart, but they also have them at office supply stores) and get busy. 
Thanks for letting me come over, Ashlee!
xoxo,
Amy
