DIY Network

Hip Clipboards Get creative with your clipboards. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-303

Put some coolness in your clipboards.

Michele Beschen has always been a big fan of clipboards – and not just because they help her stay organized. Like everything else, clipboards are another way she likes to B. Original and give character to everyday objects.

Scroll down for Michele Beschen’s easy tips on making your own clipboards something special. She even has tips to get them off the desk and up on the wall.

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Hip Clipboards

Materials:

solid backing material
paper
bulldog clips
small wooden cutting board
drill and wood bit
screw post
small clips
screwdriver

Figure A

Bare-Bones Board

Michele Beschen’s first clipboard design is the easiest ever – no tools required!

• Cut a backing board – Baltic, birch, masonite, Luan, hardboard or other hard surface—to size and sand the edges.

• Pick up a bulldog clip at the office supply store. They come in all sizes, styles and colors.

• Position a stack of paper on the board and secure it with the bulldog clip (figure A). You’re done!

Cutting Board Clipboard

• Find a wood cutting board at a discount or dollar store.

• Position the clip on the board. Make a mark on the board through the hole on the back of the clip (figure B). Drill a hole all the way through the board at the mark, wide enough to accommodate the fattest part of the screw post.
  

  Figure B

  Figure C

  
  

• Insert the post (outside) part of the screw post through the clip and the drilled hole at the front of the board. Insert the screw into the post from the back of the board and tighten with a screwdriver (figure C).

Figure D

Clipboard Gallery

Clipboards can create a dramatic display space on the walls of your home or office.

• Select a variety of inexpensive clipboards and mount them on the wall with brad nails or hooks. You may want to line them up in a clean, symmetrical arrangement, or scatter them throughout the wall area for a more energetic feel.

• Use this impromptu gallery to display favorite photos, artwork, ideas in progress or anything that can be held by a clip (figure D). It’s especially fun for showing off – and rotating out – children’s creative work.