What's the problem?
Ever since my son started attending day care and Primary at church, we have been inundated with crafts, worksheets, and coloring pages. To make matters worse, my son wants to keep every single one. At first, I put them on the fridge and then moved the "less special" ones into a file folder after a day or two. However, my fridge always looked cluttered, and there was no room for notes or reminders because of all of the crafts and papers! This kid definitely needed some dedicated display space and fast!
How did I solve it?
A DIY cork board! You have probably seen lots if pins on Pinterest where people added cork board to old picture frames to make a custom bulletin board. I really liked that idea, and I had the perfect frame on hand. Time to throw caution to the wind and give it a shot!
Here is how it turned out:
Pretty cool, huh? I am quite pleased with it, especially since it meant I killed two birds with one stone. Not only did I make fashionable display space for my son's artwork, but I also found a new use for this old IKEA frame. (It has been haunting me ever since my mom accidentally broke the glass the day I bought it.)
Right now, the bulletin board is hung on a small wall as you enter our kitchen. It fits the space well, but it could use a little "something extra." Growing up, my dad made a big deal about my artwork, and I want to do that for my son as well. Here is what I have in mind for the near future:
- A wood frame painted by my son with a wooden cutout of the word "create" attached ($1.49 total at Michael's)
- A picture of him fingerpainting in the "create" frame
- 3 clipboards for simple coloring pages and worksheets, with wooden labels: "at church," "at school," and "at home"
Hopefully, the finished art display will help free up some of that prime real estate on my fridge. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
Feeling inspired?
Check out this tutorial so you can make your own DIY bulletin board!
Materials:
- Frame of your choice with glass removed (make sure it has a solid backing)
- cork board tiles or roll (enough to cover the entire backing board)
- sharp X-Acto blade or similar craft knife
- Elmer's Glue-All
- ruler
- pencil
- large books or other heavy, flat objects
- Ultra-Fine Point Sharpie or ballpoint pen
- cutting board
Notes on Materials:
- I used the IKEA square RIBBA frame in aluminum ($17.99 at IKEA). As I said, I had it on hand. Any frame that is deep enough to accommodate glass and a mat should work fine.
- I opted for cork board tiles since they are thicker (1/4" instead of 1/8") and had better color choices. If you choose to use a cork roll, you may want to attach it to a piece of foam core or corrugated cardboard first and then insert it into the frame. If the cork is too thin, you won't be able to insert tacks firmly into the finished bulletin board.
- Honestly, use the sharpest craft knife you can. It makes a huge difference, as you can see from the pictures in step two below.
1. Arranging and attaching the cork board:
The frame I used is roughly 20 inches square, but the largest cork board tiles Michael's sells are 12" square. To get around this, I arranged the tiles in a grid pattern, glued them to the frame's backer board, and trimmed the excess.
You may need to adjust the pattern you follow based on the dimensions of your cork and frame, but the steps should be more or less the same.
Start by dividing your backer board into four equal sections:
To do this, find the center of one side of the board, mark it, and then draw a line across to the center of the board on the other side. Repeat this process with the adjoining side. (You can find the center by measuring the length of the side and dividing it by two. For example, if a side was 10.5" long, the center point would be 5.25".)
Try to keep your lines as straight and perpendicular as possible. To do this with a basic ruler, simply mark the center point several times across the board before making the final line.
When your grid is finished, you are ready to start attaching your cork tiles. To do this, apply Elmer's Glue All to one section of the grid. Use a pattern that will ensure the tile will be firmly attached across its entire surface.
Align one cork tile to the grid and press down firmly.
Place a heavy book or similar object on top of the tile to ensure an even bond. Repeat the gluing process with the next section.
When you place the second tile, make sure to push it as close to the first tile as possible. Your goal is to have no gap between the sides of the two tiles!
Repeat the steps above with remaining sections, carefully aligning the tiles to leave no gaps between them.
When all sections are finished, add additional books so that the entire surface of the cork board is covered, paying special attention to the seams where the tiles connect. The cork will curl away from the moist glue if it is not weighted!
Leave to dry overnight.
2. Trimming the cork board
After you've let the glue dry overnight, remove all of the books or weights. Your board should now look like this:
Place the board face down on a sturdy cutting surface. If necessary, place a cutting board underneath the backer board or move the board so the edge you want to cut hangs an inch or two off of the table.
Use a sharp X-Acto knife or other craft knife to trim away the extra cork, cutting as close to the edge as possible. Set extra pieces of cork aside as they break away. You will use them for the geometric shapes in the next step.
As you may have noticed in the pictures above, small pieces of cork may flake away as you cut. This is totally normal.
Continue all the way around the board until you have trimmed all of the excess cork board. When you're finished, slip it into the frame and secure the backing. The main part of the board is now finished!
You could even leave it just like this, but keep in mind that the shapes I added are functional as well as decorative. If the cork isn't think enough, tacks may not go in far enough to to stick firmly. By doubling the thickness of the cork in those areas, the shapes ensure a secure grasp!
Notes on trimming the cork board:
As I mentioned above, it is very important to use a very sharp X-Acto knife or craft knife. I started with a cheap, dull utility knife I have had for years. After much frustration, I switched to a brand-new X-Acto blade with a curved edge (see similar product information here).
Check out the difference between the two knives:
I told you it made a huge difference!
3. Designing & cutting out your shapes
I chose two simple shapes for my bulletin board--circles and squares--because I knew they would be fairly easy to cut out. You can really use whatever shapes you want, but more complex shapes will require more work and skill. Make sure you use a cutting board and a Sharpie or ballpoint pen for this step!
3A. Designing and cutting out the squares
First, decide the dimensions of your square. I made mine 1.5" because that was the width of my narrowest strip left over from step two and the diameter of the circles I would be making.
Next, mark the leftover strip and cut it to your chosen width. To do this, I first marked the strip at 1.5" inches in several places going the length of the strip. As before, this ensures a straight, even line. Next, I lined up my ruler with the width marks and drew one straight line down the length of the strip. Finally, I followed the line to cut off the extra cork. If you do not have a steady hand or are a bit of a perfectionist, you may want to use the ruler as a guide while you cut.
Now we will mark the individual squares prior to cutting them. For efficiency, I marked all of the widths with a quick hash mark, and then went back and used the ruler to draw a straight line to mark the sides of each square. Since I am making 1.5" squares, I marked every 1.5".
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| Notice the random half circle? My son decided to help out! Since I glued the squares with the Sharpie-side down, this little goof is totally harmless. ; ) |
And now the easy part. Follow the lines to cut out the individual squares. Use a ruler to guide you while you cut if necessary. Repeat the steps above until you have your desired number of squares.
3B. Designing and cutting out the circles
Be forewarned: the circles are quite a bit more time- and patience-consuming than the squares. As with the square, you should first decide the size of your circle and find a circular object that matches it. I used the lid from a medicine bottle and, like the square, it was 1.5" wide.
Next, place your lid or other object on the center of one of the strips you set aside. Trace around the lid with the Sharpie or ballpoint pen, making sure to stay as close to the lid as possible all the way around. (To do this, you may need to hold the Sharpie at a sharp angle as you trace.) Keep one hand on the lid to keep it from moving--unless you are taking one-handed pictures for your blog! ; )
For the next circle, repeat the steps above. Make sure it doesn't overlap with the first circle, but keep them fairly close together so you don't waste any cork. Continue tracing circles until you have your desired amount.
Are you ready for the hard part? It's time to cut out the circles! Since I cut my circles out before my squares, this was a huge trial-and-error experience for me. Believe me when I say that this is the easiest way to cut these puppies out!
First, separate the circles so they are each on their own individual "squarish" piece of cork. No need to measure or draw lines for this--just make sure you don't cut into any of the traced circles. You will wind up with a set of pieces that look something like this:
Next, trim all of the excess cork from around the circle. Again, you don't have to be precise--just trim off as much as possible without actually cutting into the circle.
Use an X-Acto blade to make the final cut. Hold the circle down with one hand, and carefully cut out the circle, removing any excess cork as it breaks away. Go slowly--this part takes a lot of patience to do it right!
Ta-daah! Take a brief moment to enjoy a job well-done before realizing you have X more to do and you may have been a little crazy to choose circles in the first place. Repeat the steps above with all remaining circle pieces.
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| As you can see, my circle is a little imperfect, but you can hardly see the flaws when it is attached to the bulletin board. |
4. Arranging & attaching your shapes
Now that all the hard work is over, this actually starts getting a little fun! Once you have cut out all of your desired shapes, arrange them on your finished bulletin board in whatever pattern you choose. The sky is the limit!
I used a grid pattern with alternating lines of circles and squares. First, I eyeballed the spacing to get the basic layout. Next, I used a ruler to line up the rows and even out the spacing.
When your pattern is all set, glue on your shapes one at a time, making sure to keep the pattern intact. (I used a ruler to make sure my alignment and spacing stayed dead-on.) Make sure to apply the glue on the side with your Sharpie or pen markings, and use a glue pattern that will cover the whole surface of the shape. Press down firmly when you place the shape on the bulletin board.
When all of the shapes have been glued, carefully place heavy books or similar objects on the bulletin board to keep the cork from lifting up as it dries. Leave it to dry overnight.
The next day, remove the books and you're done!
C'est finis!
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