DIY Shabby Chic French Memo Board

French Inspired Memo Board

I’m always writing little notes and reminders to myself, so my desk is typically drowning in post-it notes. I’ve thought about buying a memo board in the past but they’re usually so stark and boring, I finally decided I could make something that was just as functional but a lot more aesthetically pleasing myself. I love shabby chic style so a French memo board was the perfect choice.     

What I used

What I used 

- 16 x 12 MDF board

- Wadding

- Fabric

- Ribbon

- Buttons

- Peg clips

- Mounting tape

- PVA Fabric glue

- Scissors

- Pinking shears

- Tape measure

- Dress maker’s pencil/tailor’s chalk

What I Did

1) Rose-print fabric

1) I chose this gorgeous vintage rose print fabric and found pretty East of India ribbon to match. I found these cute miniature peg clips in a craft shop –they’re perfect for attaching little notes to the finished memo board.

2) Next I had a board cut to size –thank you Dad! I used MDF although an old noticeboard or pinboard would work just as well. I asked for the corners to be mitred for a more professional finish.

3) I cut a piece of the wadding to fit and fixed it to the board with a little fabric glue.

3) The board and wadding cut to size

4) When the glue was dry I laid the board upside down on the fabric and carefully cut around it, leaving a 2.5’’ margin.

I used pinking shears to avoid the fabric fraying although if you don’t have these to hand regular scissors are fine too. As I can’t cut a straight line to save my life I used a dressmaker’s pencil to lightly mark where I had to cut the fabric.

5) I began to fold the fabric over the board, starting with the corners. Instead of using a staple gun I used strong mounting tape, fixing it to the board first and then pulling the fabric taut and sticking it down. 

         4) Cutting the fabric                                                            5) Fixing it in place with adhesive tape

6) Positioning the ribbon

6) Now the tricky part- positioning the ribbon. I found it easiest to fix the two diagonal pieces running across the board in place first. Through trial and error I decided how far apart I wanted the rest of the ribbon to be spaced, then using the diagonals as a guide, I measured a couple of points to check they were all running parallel before fixing them with the mounting tape.

7) I sewed a button onto each of the crossing points.

8) Finally I fixed a length of ribbon to the back to hand the board up. Et viola! C’est fini.

7) Ready to sew on the buttons                                             8) The finished board with ribbon for hanging