Giant DIY Bulletin Board for Only $16

Happy Friday Eve, y’all!  Tonight I’m back for one of my favorite types of posts… DIY!  I swear, I live for this kind of stuff!  I love letting my creativity flow, and even more, I love having a gorgeous space as the end result.  I also now love sharing my DIY adventures with you.  :o)  

As y’all know, I’ve been making over my office for several years months now.  My office currently serves as a crafting room, a DIY room, a planning room, a blogging room, a keepsake storage room, and well, a getting-away-from-the-world room.  I don’t have a TV in there, nor do I have a radio... I like to go in there, shut the door, select a music playlist or genre from my computer for whatever particular mood I’m in, and then cut off the outside world (aside from the baby monitors that require my attention).  Since I use my office for so much, it has to be a highly functional space, but highly functional does not mean compromising on the décor.   

One thing that I’ve always loved is bulletin boards.  They’re so versatile!  I’ve always had one somewhere in my house.  Growing up, it was obviously in my bedroom, and ever since I’ve been a big girl and owned my own house, I’ve had one in my office.  They’re great for staying organized, and most importantly, they’re great for showcasing all of the pretty things that I want to look at and have no other place to hang.   

A few years ago when we moved into our new house, I knew I wanted a giant one for my office, but they were soooo expensive, so I ultimately bought two smaller ones from Michael’s and hung them side by side.  I never loved having two separate ones (they always looked crooked), and mine were pretty much on their last legs, so I finally decided to make my own. 

I read about this stuff called soundboard that is installed in houses to soundproof rooms.  It comes in giant sheets and it’s basically like corkboard, plus it’s pretty lightweight.  You can get it at Lowe’s or Home Depot and it is cheap, cheap, cheap!  

Here’s how I made a 50” x 38” bulletin board for only $16. 

Cost Breakdown 

$6.00 – Soundboard (It’s $9 per sheet, but I only used 2/3 of the sheet and I have some leftover for another bulletin board for the kitchen, so I used about $6 worth of this board.) 

$9.00 – Fabric (I purchased 1.5 yards at $9.99/yard, but I had a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby… love me some Hobby Lobby) 

$1.00 – Ribbon (I had half of a spool that originally cost $2 that was leftover from Olivia’s pink and gold birthday party.  You can see details from her party here.) 

$16.00 – TOTAL  

Materials

1 sheet of soundboard cut to size (they come in 4’ x 8’ sheets and Lowe’s cuts it for free)

1.5 yards of fabric

Ribbon

Staple gun or hot glue gun

Step One 

Iron your fabric.  Trust me on this one… if you don’t, you will see every little wrinkle once you get this attached to the board. 

Step Two 

Lay the fabric face down on the floor and lay the soundboard on top of it.  My soundboard had a black side and a light brown side, so I tested the push pins on both sides to see which side worked the best.  The push pins seemed to go into both sides equally as smooth, so it doesn’t matter which side of the soundboard you lay down on the fabric.  I laid the light brown side down on the fabric because I figured it would look the best behind my fabric since it is white.  Make sure that you line your board up on the fabric just right so that the pattern on your fabric is symmetrical and straight.  

Step Three 

Use a staple gun (or a hot glue gun) and tack all of the edges down to the back of the board.  Be sure to taper your corners so they folder under smoothly and don’t bulge (like you’re wrapping a present).  Be sure to pull the fabric tight as you staple so it stays tight and even across the front of the board. 

Step Four

Use the staple gun (or a hot glue gun if your staples show too well on your ribbon) to tack down your ribbon.  Be sure to space the ribbon the same distance from the edge all around the border of the board.  My ribbon is 1.5” away from each edge. 

YOU’RE DONE!!  How easy was that?!  

Oh wait.  I lied.  We still have to hang it.   

Hanging this mamma jamma was a PITA (look it up), so there’s that.  You’ll need a drill, 4 very long screws, and a hot strong hubby (or dad, or friend, whatever).  Brian held the board in place while I drilled and screwed because I couldn’t hold the thing up!  I just drilled straight through the fabric and board to the wall and then screwed in the screws.  The fabric did pucker a little, but you really can’t tell when all is said and done.  Also, I drilled my holes on the inside of the ribbon border so the screws will be covered with all of my pretty things.  Brillant, huh? 

Once you’re done hanging, admire your work and have fun tacking up all of your pretties!  I use mine to hang a calendar, important dates to remember, a dry erase board for notes, an envelope containing our weekly church envelopes, mementos, pictures and phrases that inspire me, and my very favorite – artwork that my munchies make especially for me.  When I look at this board it makes me so happy to see my favorite things in one place, and it makes me even happier now that the board is pretty, too!

Have you ever made a bulletin board?  I'd love to hear your method!  XO