Small Bulletin Board Tutorial

Two posts in three days?! I think that's a new record for me!! I seriously need to get better about this... I'm hoping things will settle into a more predictable pattern soon (haha, who am I kidding?!).

Anyway, one of the perks of my new job is having my own office (I feel like I'm officially an adult now). I need a bulletin board in my office to house all my sticky notes (there are TONS!) and some pics of the fam. Any available desk space for displaying photos is already full. I was in the mood for a quickie craft, and this certainly did not disappoint. I think I had it done in under 30 minutes, maybe even 15! I apologize in advance for the photos - it was very late at night when the craft bug hit and tired me + darkness does not equal good detailed photos.

Supplies Used:

Recycled Cork Board
Thrifted Fabric Napkin
Ribbon (optional - depending on how you want to hang it)
Glue Gun/Staple Gun

Total Cost of Project: $3? If that... Depends on what you have on hand!

The cork board I received for free from an office that had a HUGE one just sitting in the basement because they did not want to throw it out. I already used a big chunk for another project, shown in my Oct 14th post, and had a ton left over. 

When choosing your fabric, keep in mind that you'll be poking holes through it so you want something relatively sturdy in a color that will help disguise the holes - otherwise it will look worn very fast. I had gotten this napkin at Goodwill for a long time ago ($.99!!) and was saving it for the perfect project. It's a heavier linen blend with a busy print, so I think it will hide the holes well.

Alright. I measured my napkin (it was 19"x19.5") and cut a piece of cork that was 16" square. The nice thing about this project is that you can make it as big as you have supplies for or as small as you want. No more hunting for cute bulletin boards at the store (there aren't any - at least I haven't found any that are cute AND within my price range). Whatever size fabric you use, I would just cut your cork to be 3-4 inches smaller.

Lay your fabric face down and center the cork (face down as well) on the fabric. I folded all four corners in first - sorry, didn't think to take pics of how I did this part - and pinned them down. I then folded up each side and pinned as I went, stopping short of each corner. By saving your corners for last, it's a lot easier to make them look nice, as I seem to have a problem with things shifting on me and my corners usually end up looking atrocious! Once you have everything laying just the way you want it on the back, flip it over quick to make sure the front is looking stellar and then get gluing (or stapling)! I glued sides down first and saved corners for last, again just to make sure I could make them look as nice as possible.

If you wanted to get really fancy here (and I probably would if I were going to gift it or try and sell it), you could cut a piece of matching fabric and glue/staple to the back to cover up all over your edges and give it a nice, finished look.

You can either stop here, or add a piece of ribbon to the back by gluing AND stapling the ends (just for added stability) - just depends on how you want to hang it up. I was going to use a Command hook for mine (can't put holes in the walls!!) and attached ribbon to the back for hanging, but wound up ripping it off and used Command strips to hang it as I couldn't find a hook I liked.

Anyway, you get the idea. I thought about covering the sides with ribbon and doing a million other things to 'jazz' it up, but decided I liked it just the way it was. The pattern is busy enough that I don't want to do too much for fear of overkill.

My board is now hanging proudly in my office with one lonely sticky note on it. :)

I think I just might make more of these.

Happy Saturday!!

Jennie