# 31 Make a Real Wall for received postcards: DIY project – Completed!

For lack of a better title: Here is a DIY project for you. I saw it in a magazine a few months back, and was inspired to make my own. Also one of the challenges at Up For It.

(Please excuse the bad quality pics, I took them at night cause that’s my me-time, when everyone else is in bed )

I don’t want to tack my received postcards to a notice board. When you remove the card to read the back and then have to re-tack it to the board, it will eventually ruin the card and the board will go all spongy. This method you make grid of ribbon on a notice board, and slide the cards between the trellis formed.

You will need (see below list for more elaborate explanation):

1. 1 Notice Board
2. Ribbon
3. Scissors
4. Thumb tacks

   

 

For the notice board I wanted something cheap. Went to Vredendal Verpakking looking for some polystyrene (they sell just about anything to do with packaging). I thought if I could get a sheet sturdy enough, then it’ll be cheaper, and I can cover it in a fabric of my choice. Unfortunately they only sell sheets in 2.odd8m by 1.5m by 20mm  – that would not fit in my car (also not the friendliest man didn’t even try to help me or suggest an alternative). So at Waltons I found a ready covered regular pin board, 900mm by 600mm – Perfect. Mine is red, because I’m not sure yet where I want to display the board, and since my kitchen is red, so be it.

I chose Orange Ribbon cause I thought it would go well with the red. And Orange is my favourite colour. Green was too much of a contrast, yellow too bright, navy and black too bold, I didn’t even look at the red. I used satin ribbon, 5mm (I think) Not too broad and not too thin. 

Start off with the longest diagonal lines.

Secure one end – I folded the ribbon back on itself and tacked it to the back of the board, this makes it more secure. Pull the ribbon taught (but not so much as to yank out the support) and secure with a tack on the other corner. Cut the ribbon edges in a V-shape so that it doesn’t unravel.

 

On the front I secured the ribbon with a tack close to the corner to keep it in place.

Now repeat for the other 2 diagonal corners. You should have an X shape on the front of your notice board. 

Systematically working from the centre X outwards, add more ‘grid lines’. After adding one on each side of the centre X, I secured the crossing points with tacks.

 

Keep on adding and securing until you have completely gridlines the notice board. Find a spot to put it up, and start filling it up with… whatever!

Here are my first 4 received postcards from Postcrossing.