Weekend Project: How To

We finally got a new desk and it has a glossy white laquered finish that makes it hard for the mouse to work on. So the grungy mouse pad that we kept in the pull-out keyboard shelf on the old desk had to go now that it would be seen on top of the new desk. I had a few scraps of cork board that you can buy in 12" squares from places like Target. So here's what I did - and you can too:

First of all - I started with an image from some vintage silhouette woodcuts:
Then I scanned the image: (feel free to use mine)

Then I printed out the scan at a larger scale:Then using some carbon paper, I traced the outline of the image onto the cork board (the cork board is aprox 1/4" thick). Then I took my trusty x-acto knife and cut it out. The cork board can shed a little if the edges are left rough from the cuts, so I would recommend lightly sanding the edges with some finishing sand paper. That's it. Pretty simple huh? Here's images of the finished product:


It added a nice warmness to the starkness of our desk and computer. If you are using your own image, look for something that has a large solid shape and something you're able to cut out with a x-acto knife.
ps - this may be the first in a series of how-tos...