Twine and Clothes Pin Bulletin Board, Memo Board, What Do I Call This Thing?

My fridge always seems to collect "stuff".  It's not junk, because they are all things that are important.  School calendar, school lunch calendar, baseball game schedule, missionary prayer cards, Save the Date cards, etc...

I wanted to have some other place to put some of these things where A.) they weren't hidden away to be forgotten, and B.) they would almost seem like decoration while they were hanging out.  

I spent around $11 on my supplies and here is what I came up with.

I bought a large picture frame out of the markdown bin at Michaels.  Just the wooden frame, no glass.  This was the most expensive piece, $8.00.  It was already a color that worked for me so I didn't have to paint it.  Bonus! 

I bought a roll of hemp twine which is kind of expensive but I didn't use the whole roll.  I've got plenty left for other projects. 

I gathered my staple gun (fully loaded), hot glue gun (2 sticks of glue), a ruler and scissors.

It was a beautiful day yesterday.  A little windy, but beautiful.  So I set up to work outside.  That way the boys could play and I could craft and keep an eye out to make sure they didn't wander away.

 To begin with I had to measure the width and the length of my frame.  Then I had to do my least favorite thing: Math.  (Sorry Nana)  Since I was going to be weaving a net of twine across my frame and I wanted it to be even, I had to figure out what would divide evenly into my two measurements (or as close as I could get them to).  What I came up with was 2.5" for the height and 1.25" for the width.  That meant I needed: 7 pieces of twine spaced 2.5" inches apart, to go across the height and 17 pieces 1.25" apart, to go across the width.  I wrote it out on the frame back so I could remember. 

I cut all my twine pieces out first.

Then, using my ruler, I measured out where each piece of twine should be attached.

I marked all sides and made sure that they matched up, going across.

Next, I put some hot glue on a mark and then pushed the end of the twine into it.

After that side had set, I stretched the twine across to the mark directly on the other side.  Attaching that end with hot glue as well.

I continued to go down the row until I had all the twine rows going across horizontally.

  I then started on the lines that would be my vertical rows.  Turning the frame where my horizontal rows became vertical, I began the same process as before for attaching the twine.  Except, I wove the strands through the others.  Just a over under pattern. 

Alternating with every new piece added.  Like a tennis racket.

After all the twine was attached, I went back and doubly secured each one with a staple.  I love my staple gun!  It's so fun!

Then I decorated some clothes pins.  See, I used the twine here too.  

I also made some with chalkboard circles.  Fun huh?

Then I hung it up and transferred some of my "stuff" over from the fridge.  I'm really liking my less-cluttered fridge.  I can't say de-cluttered because well, I've got lots of "stuff".