DIY Fabric Covered Bulletin Board

Have you ever priced large cork boards? On Amazon the price for a 3'x4′ cork board ranges from $40.72-$70.88! If your office, craft room, teen bedroom, kitchen or dorm room needs a large scale bulletin board with a custom flair, check out my giant DIY Fabric Covered Bulletin Board that only cost me $15!

My daughter and I recently redecorated her bedroom to reflect her new status as a teenager. All she wanted for her birthday was to update her bedroom, which we redid just a couple of years ago, but apparently pink is out if you are 12 years old.

The above bedding was our inspiration for the whole room. I am a big fan of Kohl's. We stacked multiple coupon codes to get this Intelligent Danika Bedding set for 75% off. Currently $10 off a $30 purchase at Kohls coupon + 15% of Kohl's cardholders here.

We painted the room a beautiful light gray and added all of the accessories but we still had a giant empty wall above her white desk. We decided that she really needed a large cork board to display some of her favorite things and cut down on clutter. After pricing bulletin boards and looking at rolls/sheets of cork, they were all too expensive or too small.

When I saw some giant sheets of foam core board at Hobby Lobby, I decided to make my own fabric covered bulletin board. I used two sheets of 40″x32″ foam core board. They were $5.99 each but I used a coupon from my Hobby Lobby app (coupon here) app. My husband went through a different line and used a paper coupon I had printed out at home. Score!

I spent just over $7 for both boards. The fabric came from Joann's and I again used a mobile app coupon (coupon here) so it came to $4. (I love mobile apps because it means I always have a coupon on my cell phone for my favorite craft/fabric stores.) The Duck tape and packing tape, hot glue and Command wall hanging strips were all supplies I already had at home.

The blingy trim was an after thought. I decided the board was too plain and I wanted to tie in some of the other flashy details in the room. The ribbon was $4 after a 40% mobile app coupon at Michaels.

If you look closely, I have used clear packing tape to tape both boards together making it a double thickness. I did this so that a regular push pin wouldn't poke out of the back.

Next, cut your fabric to be 2″ larger all the way around or add 4″ to the size of your foam core. Since my foam core was 40×32, I cut my fabric to be 44×36.

To cover the board, I started with the corners. I folded one corner of fabric over the back of the board and taped it (with Duct tape) both directions. Next, I repeated with the opposite corner, being sure to pull the fabric tight. Repeat this with the last two corners. Then you can start to fold up and tape the sides.

You'll notice I used Duck tape to secure the fabric to the foam core. I wasn't sure if it was going to work, but it worked well. There are a variety of other products you could use from a hot glue gun to spray adhesive but I already had the blue Duck tape and I didn't care how the back looked.

As an after thought, I added the sparkly trim and attached it to the back with hot glue. I am glad I spent the money on the trim, it really finished off my board and ties in the other bling in the room. When my daughter came home from school and saw it, she said the trim was her favorite part!

I hung the bulletin board on the wall using 4 of these Command Picture Hanging Strips. I love that I don't have to put a hole in the wall and they come off of the wall without damaging the paint when you are ready to make a change. (They didn't pay me to say that, I just really like them and usually have some on hand.)

I love the way this little DIY project turned out. It really brings a pop of color to that side of the room and ties in all of the other elements for a fraction of the cost of a similarly sized plain brown cork board. It's also very functional and I'm sure will be used for years to come!