I have participated in several races in my lifetime, including 4 half marathons and numerous 5ks.  When you take part in a race, you usually wear what’s called a bib.  This is your personal number during the race.  I have saved these items over the years and I’ve been wanting a way to display them.

Enter this lovely item I found on Etsy…

(The item above can be found in the runningonthewall shop on Etsy)
When I saw this, I thought, I could make something similar myself!  
First I measured my largest bib and decided what size board I would need.  I had a scrap piece from the mirror project, so hubs cut what I wanted from that.
Next, I painted the piece of wood with 2 coats of white craft paint.
I wanted to make it a Chevron pattern, but I wasn’t quite sure how to do it.  I did a little research and found the following method on a crafter’s blog…
First, cover the entire thing with painters tape.
Next, I printed out a chevron template and taped it to the board. I had to use 2 letter size pieces of paper to cover the surface.  Be sure and line up the pattern when taping it down… otherwise, your chevron pattern will turn out wonky.
Then I traced all the lines with an Exacto knife, making sure to cut deep enough to not only go through the paper, but the painters tape as well.
Now, remove the paper template…
(you can barely make out the scored cuts on the tape)
…and carefully peel up every other row of tape so that it looks like this…
You might need to use the Exacto knife to help lift the tape.
Then, take your second color and a sponge brush and paint away!  
Let it dry for a few minutes, then carefully remove the rest of the painters tape…
Next, I took some fine sandpaper to rough up the edges and distress the paint a little for a more shabby chic look…
Now, its time to add the letters.  I printed mine and cut them out.  This was not fun… it wasn’t very enjoyable modge-podging it to the wood either…
It’s kind of crooked, but I’m not going for perfect.
Finally, add shoulder hooks and your bibs!
And here it is on the wall with a framed collage from my first half marathon and the medal display I made several months ago.  
I’m so proud of the finished product!  I’m especially proud of the Chevron pattern… I can’t believe how well that turned out!
Until next time…
Happy Blogging!