Making your very own bulletin board is a fun way to give your room, workspace, or office a touch of personality and elegance.
DIY fabric covered bulletin boards are not just cheap and easy to make, but they also look much better than a store-bought cork board bulletin board.
Also, since you can customize your design to your taste, you will find a hand-made bulletin board far more functional. You can hang pictures on it, or put up notes and track your personal or professional life!
The best part?
You can give your space a personal touch with a bulletin board by spending no more than 30 minutes!
Plus, covering neutral tones with fabric like a rope basket or this life organizing “cork” board always looks better.
In this post, we will look at how craft lover Shelby from the Starset Moonfire YouTube channel makes a super cute bulletin board that beats anything you’ll find purchasing from a store!
Supplies
You don’t need much to make a bulletin board, and you likely won’t even need to order any special tools to get started. Here are the six things you need:
- Piece of cardboard
- Fabric of your choice
- E6000 craft adhesive or similar
- Masking tape
- Black elastic
- Adhesive gems
Steps
01 Cut the Cardboard
You must first cut the piece of cardboard to the size of the board you want.
Make sure you have enough cardboard to cut two identical pieces since you will be using one to protect your wall from potential damage from the pins/thumbtacks.
Measure and mark using a scale or use a box as Shelby does, then cut the cardboard with a paper cutter or a snap-off blade cutter.
Watch Shelby do this step by skipping to 1:50 on her video below.
02 Cut the Fabric
Cut the fabric you chose for your bulletin board slightly bigger than your piece of cardboard. Cutting it to be about an inch and a half wider on all sides will be perfect.
Shelby measures and cuts her pretty quilted fabric at the 3:36 mark on her video below.
03 Glue the Fabric
Place one piece of cardboard over the fabric, and lay down a layer of glue along its edges.
Then, fold over the fabric, and use masking tape to hold it until the glue dries.
If you’re using E6000 adhesive as Shelby does, you will need to put some weight on it and leave it to dry overnight.
See how to line up and glue the fabric to the board by skipping to the 4:59 mark of the video.
04 Cut and Secure the Elastic
Measure out how much of the elastic band you need to make a crisscross pattern. In the video, Shelby places the elastic band in position, leaves out roughly an inch extra on each side for gluing, and snips away the excess.
She makes a total of six elastic strips, but you can make more or less of these as you see fit.
Tape the elastic in place before you flip the board and glue it, and your bulletin board is almost ready!
View this step by skipping to 8:25 on Shelby’s video below.
05 Stick the Backing Board and Gems
Homestretch!
Glue the second piece of cardboard to the backside of your bulletin board, and stick the pretty gems in place on the elastic.
You can also glue the elastic bands to one another and to the board at their intersecting points to fortify the elastic’s stretchiness.
Leave the glue to dry, and that’s it, you have your very own, gorgeous-looking bulletin board!
Watch the completion of this DIY bulletin board by skipping to 14:32 in the video.
See the Project Now
You can check out Shelby’s full video to get a feel for the look she was going for – she nails it!
You can also use the timestamps noted above to skip from step to step and complete your bulletin board quickly.
FAQs
How do I cut down on drying time?
E6000 glue offers an industrial-strength hold, and while it begins to set in roughly 10 minutes, a full cure takes at least 24 hours.
There are plenty of quick-dry adhesives you can use instead of E6000 and shorten drying time.
How do I make a frame for my DIY fabric covered bulletin board?
There are many ways of making a framed bulletin board. If woodworking is your thing, you could make a custom wooden frame for your bulletin board.
You could also buy a picture frame or use an old one and cut your cardboard to size. But the simplest way to do this is to cut out strips of cardboard, paint them, and stick them in place on the board to make a frame.
Additional Tips
Using elastic on one side of the board and leaving the other side for notes is an excellent way to make a bulletin board for your home office.
It strikes the perfect balance between personal and professional, and is a heartwarming addition to your workspace!
Shelby uploads at least twice a week on her channel Starset Moonfire, which is filled with similar DIY tutorials and life hacks. Make sure you subscribe to her for more excellent content!