Thank you Dick Bikowicz

As some of you know, my current project for the fall involves updating my kids' playroom from toddler to big boy and beyond.  Lots of pieces are finished.  Paint allllllll of the molding white.  Check.  Really cool metal cafe chairs.  Check.  Awesome cheapie desk/tables from my Ikea trip.  Check.  Update ugly top of the stairs light.  Check.  There are really only a few things left to be done. One of them is huge.  Build an entertainment center.  I'm not there yet.  But today I conquered a much smaller, and yet perhaps just as important piece.  The bulletin board.

Up until now, the boys have had traditional tack bulletin boards (which I covered in fun fabric so as to be less traditional).  I'm not sure where my brain was when I made those, but let me tell you that children and thumbtacks...  not a good idea.  They love their board though and are constantly hanging their lovely works of art and their "finisher" race and soccer ribbons.  So I knew that it was an element that I wanted to keep in the room.  But now, being that I've had two boys for all of these years and have stepped on many a tack, I decided that the magnet board was truly the only way to go.  Truly people, don't make my mistake.

The other day, on a whim, I ended up scouring the local Salvation Army.  As I was about to walk out empty handed, I spotted this from across the store.  I obviously had to go check it out.  Real wood, glass intact, giant well made frame...  $3.49!  Did you hear me??  $3.49.  I didn't even waste one second thinking about it.  Inside was a lovely retirement poem and signatures for Dick's retirement back in 2011.  And so Dick Bikowicz came home with me.

Today my mission was to find a piece of metal sheeting for it.  Went into Lowes and came out 5 minutes later with this piece of steel.

$20.  Which is not cheap.  But considering that I paid $3.49 for Dickie, I thought that I could make the splurge.  On the way home I also rewarded my self for the great finds.

So I got it home and guess what??  The metal sheet was the exact same size as the frame opening!  This just couldn't get any better.  Framed it, hung it.  Boys will be using it in no time. A don't worry, I reused Dick Bikowicz's retirement poem and signatures to add some padding to the back of the metal so the frame would hold tight.  Thanks, Dick.