Post by Christina Williams of JustCallMeChris.com

Cheap and easy. That’s how I like my DIY projects.

And this one’s the cheapest and easiest of them all. Honestly.

Both of my older kids have bulletin boards in their rooms; and I wanted some cute push pins for them to use. Besides being able to customize the colors, these push pins come with an added bonus: Little Brother’s chubby two-year-old fingers aren’t dexterous enough to pull them out of the cork boards (yet). So pretty much, they’re toddler proof. Until I step on one in the middle of the night…then I’ll be singing a different tune.

I’ll stop blabbing–let’s get to work. It’s actually so simple I didn’t even take photos showing you the process. Because there’s only two ingredients and two steps.

Rummage through your recycle bin until you find an old box (a padded envelope would be appropriate too). I used an old cereal box. Rice Krispies…because I’m sure you were dying to know. Stick a bunch of thumbtacks into the box (or envelope) in a nice, tidy row. Now start painting. Just paint the thumbtacks, let them dry. Put on another coat or two if you need to. Don’t be stingy. Wait till they’re dry and pull them out of the box. Done.

I really love how the gold glitter ones turned out. And if nail art is one of your things you could do some fun designs on your thumbtacks, too. Dots, stripes, flowers, you name it. And I could be wrong, but I think Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up. Paint up a batch of these cuties and package them in a beaker or test tube and you’ve got a quick easy gift.