getting crafty: painted clipboard

Lucky you guys, Laura is here today to share yet another awesome idea in her "Getting Crafty" series with us! This DIY was even a finalist in the Design Sponge/Scotch Blue Painter's Tape Contest but the full DIY has never been shown anywhere until right now! Aren't we lucky? Enjoy!

For this month's Getting Crafty column, I've come up with an easy way to add some interest to a plain clipboard. This design can be customized using different colors, or shapes and this project could easily given as a gift to your uber organized best friend. She'd love it! Keep reading for the full tutorial.

Materials: spray paint (white shown here), clipboard, trio of paints (shown here are red, teal and champagne), painters tape (1" shown here), paint brush, hole punch

Step 1: Prepare your clipboard by taping over the hinge at the top. Once the metal piece is covered, go ahead and give the clipboard 2-3 coats of spray paint, making light and even coats as you go. Let the clipboard dry (overnight is best). While the clipboard is drying, get a piece of painters tape about 15 inches long. Using the hole punch, make evenly spaced punches through the tape to reveal a row of dots.

Step 2: Begin taping off the clipboard in a design that you want. It is best to plan this out before starting to paint. Another helpful tip is to paint one color at a time. I began with the teal, allowed to dry, then did the red and finished off with the champagne. This project does take time, but is very simple. For this example, I taped off the teal sections first, by making several diagonal lines across the clipboard. To add the dots, just adhere the tape in a straight line and paint directly over it.

Once all of your paint is dry, peel off the tape and enjoy your design!