Weekend Project: Paint Sample Pinboard upcycle

Pinboards are, for the main part, plain and functional. You can of course buy fabric covered ones but when I was searching for a large pinboard for each of The Girls’ rooms, I couldn’t find anything I liked. So I ordered the size I wanted, then headed to my local DIY store for some paint samples for a Paint Sample Pinboard upcycle, if you will.

Dimples has explained repeatedly of late that she likes “every colour of the rainbow” rather than just her beloved pink, so I took her at her word and bought a range of bright ice-cream colours that would co-ordinate with her existing bedroom.

Then one evening, I set everything up in front of the television and painted whilst I watched back-to-back episodes of Scandal on Amazon Fire TV. I took half a dozen plastic cups, and  mixed each paint (I kept two colours back) with an equal amount of glue, assuming that this would help the paint adhere to the cork, and give the board longevity. Since the size I ordered gets screwed into the wall, I needed to know I wasn’t going to have to take it down for a touch-up every month.)

Then I took each paint colour in turn, adding random spots across the board, then taking a dry brush, dragging through the paint blob to make a short stroke of paint. I gradually filled in the board with the colours I had- pink, turquoise, green, yellow, white, blue and red.

Once I had covered every inch of the board, I went back, adding extra paint where it had soaked right in. I added a few distinct spots of a lilac that had been waiting in the wings, where I felt some of the colours needed more variety. In short, I tinkered until I was happy. Then I left to dry overnight.

Finally, I covered the edges of the board with gold Duck Tape, and hung above the new desk that Dimples got for her birthday. Throw in a new lamp shade- bought on sale from Homebase- and the new look was ready for Dimples to enjoy.

 

The desk was from a small business in Westgate on Sea that renovates unloved furniture.

The stool is a piano stool we got in a charity shop years ago.

The lampbase was from the Tots 100 Home project.