All About Us Clipboard Crossword

My Valentine likes to do the newspaper crosswords afterwork at night and I notice he always grabs a magazine or whatever else is handy to lean on. So I got the idea to make him a clipboard to hold his crosswords. Then it came to me that I should try to make a crossword puzzle just for him. Lo and behold, you can find anything on the Internet! I logged onto http://www.custompuzzles.com/ and it is easy as pie to make a crossword puzzle with your own clues and answers.

They even have prompts to help you make clues if you are stuck for ideas. I also chose a free-form puzzle, but you can choose a more symmetrical one if you don't mind them adding in some random clues to even out your puzzle.

Once you create your puzzle on this site, you can choose to print it out with a photo background or plain. I chose one of their candy heart backgrounds, but then trimmed around the puzzle so it would fit on the clipboard. To make a nice smooth surface to hold his newspaper crossword puzzles, the entire project is covered with Mod Podge. I was so excited to find this product in my local craft store, as I had no idea how to explain what I wanted to do in Japanese should the need have arrived.

First trim your papers to fit the clipboard. Then prep the clipboard with acrylic paint. Spread the Mod Podge on the back of the paper and smooth it down so there are no bubbles. Wait about 20 minutes before adding your next layer. I finished with candy heart stickers from Hallmark and added a final top coat of Mod Podge.

The site provides an answer sheet on a separate page, so I decorated the back of the clipboard with some coordinating papers and the answers.

Next, I found a pen with a loop on the side that I was able to thread a ribbon through, tied the ribbon to the clipboard and added a few candy heart stickers to the pen. I resisted the urge to add ribbons and fibers to the top of the clipboard as I know my hubby would not really like that. But the final product, I'm sure he is going to get good use out of. And this puzzle will be one he will have no trouble solving. Happy Valentine's Day Handsome - it's All About Us!