fancy thumb tacks

Last week I completed a super fun, super cheap, super quick project for my office.  I have been on a hunt for colorful thumb tacks since I made my bulletin board strip last fall.  I didn't know it would actually require much effort, but sadly, all the thumb tacks I found were either boring or too expensive (how could I pay $15 for 20 tacks when I knew I'd want to tack much more than 20 things?). 

 

But then I came across this tutorial on the ModCloth blog for decorating your own thumb tacks and my life was changed.  As much as one's life can be changed by pretty office supplies. 

I already had this pack of 70 white thumb tacks that I believe cost $.50.  They are not super sharp, so I can't use them on walls, (I have slight obsession with tacking things to the walls that Steve finds really worrisome) but they are fine for a bulletin board. 

 

I purchased four mini nail polishes in colors that matched my office for $.93 each at Walmart.  I would have just used my own nail polish, but I'm strictly a pink and red girl. 

I spaced the tacks out in one of the pieces of cardboard they came in and raised them up so the heads were not touching the cardboard.  Then I painted two coats of the base color on each one.

The next day, I painted the designs.  I stuck with dots, stripes, and hearts, because I'm not much of a nail polish brush artist.  On most of them, I ended up doing two coats of the top color as well so that the base color didn't show through. 

Probably my favorite part about this project was the lack of clean up!  Because you are painting with nail polish, there are no brushes to clean or paint containers or anything.  I kept everything out on my work station and would just work on it for five minutes at a time whenever I had a chance. 

 

Today I'm plowing through a long to-do list (Monday's list is always lengthy!) and roasting a chicken.  Is anyone else getting excited about Valentine's day?  Here are some ideas for treats to make if you're thinking about baking this week.