Materials used:

• One old cookie sheet (you could also use a piece of foam core, corkboard, or cardboard)
• One largeish fabric remnant (an old piece of clothing would do just as well) One spool of ribbon (could have used shoelaces, string, floss, rubber bands or twine)
• Stamps and paint (stencils would also have worked)
• Letter stickers (not needed, but I have them and wanted to use them up)
• Sewing machine & thread (Not strictly necessary, but very helpful. If you don't have a sewing machine, you can also use iron interfacing adhesive, available in any sewing store.)
• Four envelopes
• Cardstock (any sort of decorative paper would work--or you could skip it altogether)
• Magnet tape (only relevant if you're using the cookie sheet)
• Buttons

This project was partially inspired by ReadyMade (the book) and partially by an old article I remember reading about how you could use cookie sheets and magnets to display children's artwork.

The first step was to make envelopes for each of my usual spending categories. For me, this equals four: books & other print materials; craft supplies; website and magazine subscriptions; and fiving. I trimmed the flap off of each envelope and to the front (the side with the "v" cut out) I adhered a piece of cardstock trimmed to fit. Then each was labelled with the letter stickers.

I cut a piece of fabric large enough to cover the flat side of the cookie tin and wrap around a good ways behind it, and hemmed it. Then six pieces of ribbon were cut: three equal to the length of the fabric piece, and three equal to the width. These were placed at equal intervals in a kind of grid, and the ends were sewn in place. A measuring tape or ruler is helpful here.

A smaller fabric remnant was cut out from a different colour, and I stamped BUDGET on it, ironed on some interfacing (to cut down the translucency, as it was thin fabric--this isn't necessary), hemmed it, and sewed it on to the top of the fabric piece.

Buttons were sewn along where the bottom edge would be. These are hooks, sort of; I can loop things on to them.

Then the fabric piece was sewn onto the cookie sheet: The corners were folded tightly and sewn in place to hold the whole thing together, and then the sides were laced up like a corset to hold the ribbons tight. Around this time I decided to stamp some images on to the envelopes to match the title.

Result: A faux-french ribbon board. The envelopes tuck into the ribbons, and I can put receipts, bills, or whatever else I want to in them. I can hang things off the buttons. And, after sticking a few buttons on to the magnet tape, I also have magnets I can use to stick things on the board if they don't belong in one of the envelopes.

Altogether it took three or four hours, and cost nothing. Everything in it was reused, so it was environmentally responsible. The end result is not a work of art, but it is prettier than a corkboard and more than functional enough for the purpose.

Next step: Hanging it, and using it.

*If you're curious about how I did with my goals from my last post on fiving, I'm doing what I said I would do plus a bit more--a monthly donation to AboutFace International and the Yellow Brick House as well as the others. But obviously, still not at my goal total.