How To Make An Inexpensive Inspiration Board

Here is a little mini tutorial about how to make a ghetto very cheap and very light inspiration board for difficult walls.  I knew that when I actually set up my sewing space, I wanted to have a wall of things that inspire me.  Like many artists, I have binders of tear sheets, photos of work by my favorite artists, boxes of cards that have been given to me, autographed photos of Sam Waterston etc etc.  I saved all of it to one day make an inspiration board of my own.

That day had come, but I am very tight on money and was also planning on hanging it on a very difficult wall.  It has metal or something in it, which makes it impossible to drill very far into, so you cannot hang anything heavy on it (which I found out the hard way), so my go to idea of Masonite was out of the question- here is what I did instead (please note that this is not the most exact or sturdy board, the emphasis was on cost and weight and not having to go to Home Depot).

First, gather your supplies- 2 yards of (really cheap, on sale) cotton (you could probably do it with 1.5 yards), upholstery tacks, 3 packs of 12 x 12 cork titles, packing tape, a regular stapler, scissors, nails and a hammer (a level doesn't hurt either).

Lay out the cork titles and use the packing tape to tape them together (be sure to tape both sides).  You can staple on top of the tape for extra security if you'd like (industrial staples are too long for the cork and a regular staple rips right out if it's not supported).

Lay your pressed fabric face down on the floor.  It's always nice to have a friend to help.

Lay the now taped together board on top of the the fabric and staple them together (remember to pull the fabric tight and try to keep it on grain).

Once the fabric is on, lay out your photos, artwork, etc (it's a lot easier to do on the floor than on the wall).  Use the upholstery tacks to secure the inspiration to the board.  Then, using you level, nail it to the wall.  The trick is to also use the hammer on the upholstery tacks which are long and sturdy enough to help the board stay flat on the wall.  And, there you are, it's done!  Maybe not the most high tech way to do it, but it was very cheap and pretty damn easy, and I must say, doesn't look as ghetto as it actually is!

Total Cost:
Staples- Cork Titles on sale for $5 a pack
(I had a $20 coupon for recycling my ink, so basically they were free.)
Local Hardware Store- Upholstery tacks $1.50 a pack = $4.50
JoAnn's- cotton on sale for $4 a yard = $8
I already had packing tape, nails, etc so that total out of pocket cost was $12.50!

*Many more photos to come of my sewing space as soon as I get my last little pieces of the puzzle, a tin I bought on Ebay, a photos for a wall hanging, and a little quilt art I want to make.  It's sooo close!

Home-Infused Blueberry and Strawberry Vodka

Sunday night I checked in on my infusing vodka, which included tiny little tastes from each jar.  The pomegranate was very faint tasting, so I put it back in the fridge, but the blueberry and strawberry vodkas were very flavorful, so I decided it was time to strain them.

In order to control the pouring, I first dumped the mixture into a pitcher and then slowly poured through a strainer into a smaller Mason jar.  Then I labeled them, sealed them up, and put them with all my other liquor- it's that easy.  I am never buying flavored vodka again!

Homemade Infused Vodka

I feel like a bootlegger!  Today I put all my internet reading to good use and started the process of making infused vodka (which I will used for my Olympic viewing party drinks).  If it works, then it's really easy!  Here's how to do it...

First- you'll need:

• Mason Jars or a similar container that you can seal (I suppose old liquor bottles would work)
• Vodka (please don't judge the brand I used, someone left it at my house after a party a few years ago, so I figured it's time to put it to good use.)
• Fresh Fruit
• Your everyday kitchen stuff (knife, cutting board, etc) depending on the fruit you choose

I am making 3 different flavors: Blueberry (for Olympic Sangria) and Pomegranate and Strawberry (for Olympic lemonade).  I just went ahead and poured all of the pomegranate seeds into one jar (I'm not sure if I needed that many, but I'm not going to use them for anything else), the blueberries I punctured with a knife so that juices can really get in there, and the strawberries I cut up.  After the fruit was in the jars, I added about 1 cup of vodka to the blueberries and 2 cups to pomegranate and strawberry each.

Then you seal them up and put them in the fridge.  I've read lots of different info on how long you are supposed to let them sit- everywhere from 24 hours to 3 weeks...  I will try something in the middle.  Don't forget that about once a day or so you should agitate the mixture.

Now we wait...