When you are looking for a quick and easy project that lifts your spirits, try a clipboard:

• Convention Special “Share What You Love” Stamp; Vintage Vogue stamp set
• Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper
• Real Red, Marina Mist and Whisper White card stock
• Real Red, Marina Mist and Pear Pizazz Stampin’ Write markers; Versamark stamp pad
• 1 3/4 inch and 2 3/8 inch scallop circle punches
• Big Shot and  Tasteful Trim Bigz die
• Real Red, Marina Mist and Pear Pizazz ribbons
• Royal Decoupage Medium and a clipboard

These clipboards are super easy because I am careful to get this style of clip.  The measuring around the top is pretty simple, and you don’t have to try to hold the clip part open because it doesn’t close onto the paper but rather onto itself.  Clear as mud??

My other hint is to use your Decoupage medium on a quarter of the clipboard at a time.  Maybe some of you Mainland crafters can get the whole thing painted up without parts drying, but here on Maui that doesn’t happen.  Doing one section at a time allows me to get complete adhesion and to work my paper down the front of the clipboard slowly and carefully so that everything lines up.  I use my bone folder to make sure it’s all smooth and bubble-free, too.

Want to see the back?

Clipboards are diabolically dimensioned at 12 1/2 inches tall, so that 12 inch Designer Series paper is just a smidgen too short.  My solution is to cut two pieces of paper, one at 9 1/2 inches and one at 3 inches, and butt the seam closely.  (You can see I split it up for the back.)  I like to add a little trim to cover the seam and create extra visual interest, but it’s really not necessary.  Most clipboards are right about 9 inches wide, so the 3 inch piece you cut off to create that width can often be used to fill in the space on the bottom.

The renovations are coming along, but I will confess that I am growing weary of the chaos.  I’m one of those  “a place for every thing, and every thing in its place” kinds of girl, so having all surfaces covered with STUFF from all over the house is getting tiresome.  Builder Dan and his crew have been doing a fabulous job though, and my stamp studio has walls of a glorious hue.  All 3 days this weekend I kept stopping in the doorway, imagining myself putting all my things away In Their Places!!!  Soon, soon…but in the meantime, here is a little clue as to why I am so fond of Builder Dan:

Honestly, what more could you ask for?  I’m hoping he’ll leave it behind when he’s finished.