Christmas Card Cork Board with Kira

Merry ~almost~ Christmas!  It's Kira and I am back with a fun, off the page project.  I had originally thought about doing a cute Christmas sign, because I firmly believe that you can never have too much Christmas decor around the holidays.  But as I strolled through the aisles of Michaels, nothing really jumped out at me to use for a base.  Until I saw the cork boards!

Once I saw this large cork board, the idea immediately came to me.  Just a couple of days before, my husband added a Christmas card to our mantle; which really shouldn't be a big deal, but I had already decorated our mantle to perfection.  The newly added card messed with my aesthetic!  I made him take it down and put in on my magnet board in my craft room instead.  So when I saw the cork board, I knew it was the perfect solution for this conundrum I found myself in. 

And this is surprisingly easy to recreate!  So here's the supplies you need:

-cork board (any size will do, mine is 20"x16" and was $4 on sale at Michaels)
-your favorite cut file from The Cut Shoppe (I used Farm Fresh Trees)
-vinyl
-acrylic paint
-paint brush
-contact paper or blue painters tape

Once you gather your supplies, it is time to get working!  Start by cutting your chosen cut file on some vinyl.  You'll want to measure your cork first and decide on the proper size.  Since my cork board was 20" wide, I sized my cut file to 19" wide. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't sure what the outcome of this project was going to be, so this is the only "in progress" picture I took.

When your design is cut from the vinyl, you'll want to do some opposite weeding.  Usually when working with vinyl, you weed off the pieces around your design, but in this case you will weed out the design, leaving the outer/inner pieces to create a stencil of sorts.  Use your contact paper (or blue painters tape) to remove the vinyl from its backing.  Using a t-square ruler, make sure your design is straight before adhering it to your cork board. 

You'll want to make sure that all the edges of your design are adhered well to the cork, so when you paint, the paint won't leak through.  Use a dabbing motion with your paint brush, rather than a sweeping motion.  This will help the paint from seeping under the vinyl as well. 

After you have painted your entire design, removed the vinyl SLOWLY!  I made the mistake of trying to remove it more quickly in one area and it ripped the cork!!  Ugh!!! 

And that's it!  I also created some custom push pins using cut files, paper and thumb tacks!  Let me know if you have any questions about the creation of this!  Thanks for stopping by!

xo, Kira