How to Make a Fabric Covered Bulletin Board

There is no need to buy a bulletin board when you can make your own! Making your own bulletin board is fun, and you can be as creative as you want with it. Design your board to be any size and make it any color you would like. This is a fun, easy craft that you can do with your kids as well.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Get a piece of thick corrugated cardboard, any size you want. A good size for a small board is 18 by 24 inches. You can cut it out of a cardboard box or buy a sheet at a paper store or online. If you want it to be more durable, use plywood that is 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick. Don't make it too thick or it will be heavy.
2. Find a nice, thick fabric and cut it so that it is 2 inches longer than your cardboard or plywood on each side. So if your board is 18 by 24 inches, your fabric will need to be 22 by 28 inches. To prevent the fabric from fraying, apply white glue around the edges.
3. Wrap the fabric tightly around the plywood or cardboard, but not too tight. Make it tight enough so there are no bumps or gaps in the fabric. If you're using cardboard, hot glue the fabric to the board around the perimeter at the back of the cardboard, where the fabric wraps around. If using plywood, you can use thumbtacks or a staple gun to attach the fabric. Make sure the staples are short enough so that they don't penetrate the other side of the board. Tack or staple every 2 inches or so around the board.
4. Add a decorative frame to your bulletin board if you like. For a plywood board, make the frame out of pre-primed pine molding, about 2 inches wide and 5/8 inches thick. Cut the pieces to fit your board, and paint or stain them before attaching with short nails. For a cardboard bulletin board, simply cut strips of cardboard, paint them and hot glue them around the edges.
5. Hang a plywood board as you would any heavy painting. Attach a hanging device to the back, which can be purchased at a hardware or department store. To hang a cardboard bulletin board, simply tack it to the wall on all four sides of the board.

Tips & Warnings

• Use an open weave fabric to avoid any visible holes when bulletin board tacks are removed.
• Paint the heads of the tacks you will use on your board to match the color of your frame for a great effect.
• Decorate your board with cloth ribbon if you like. A fun idea is to make a crisscross checker design using the ribbon.
• Transform your plywood bulletin board into a cork board. Buy a thin sheet of cork cut to the same size as your board, and attach it to the surface of the plywood with spray adhesive.
• You can purchase a screw hook to attach to your wooden frame to hang your keys.