DIY Project: Bulletin Boards

One of the first DIY projects I did for my dorm room was also one of the best projects I've done, because it has stuck with me all four years. I found this idea in a Seventeen magazine, and it works great in any dorm room, bedroom, kitchen, entryway etc. Transform your dull and boring basic bulletin board into a fun and fabulous frame for your photos, to-do lists, message boards, etc.!! I have received so many compliments from my friends, and all of them wanted to know where my awesome boards came from. The best part is, they think you are crafty and creative because you made them homemade! There are many easy and inexpensive ways to dress up a simple bulletin board, and I will describe a couple of options.

Fabric and Paint
Materials:
Basic Bulletin Board
Fabric to fit the inside area
Paint
Stapler/Staples

Paint the border of the bulletin board a color of your choice. Once the paint has dried, lay down a layer of fabric to cover the entire cork area of the board, and staple it along the edges of the board, right beside the border. From a distance, the staples are hardly noticeable, and if you are like me, there will be pictures all over so you won't see them anyway. You may need to double up the fabric if it is a light color or pattern.

Be creative! I suggest using a fun pattern to match your color scheme and painting the border a solid shade. I used white with a pink and white checkered fabric. If you would like to be more creative on the border, though, try using a solid colored fabric so it's not too busy. Try polka dots, stripes, or a patterned border in that case. This would also be more time consuming, however.

Rhinestone/Jeweled Border

Materials:
Basic Bulletin Board
Hot Glue and Glue Gun
Rhinestones, Jewels

Arrange colorful jewels or rhinestones of all different shapes and sizes along the border of the bulletin board, and hot glue them down to create a fun border for your photos.

If fabric is desired, as in the above example, lay down and staple the fabric first (I suggest a light solid color), and cover it with newspaper or a sheet while gluing to avoid getting it messy. Sometimes the rhinestones will cover the inside really close to the border, and it will be hard to staple it down if you wait until you've glued it all. If you don't like the idea of colorful rhinestones, try gluing down a couple layers of fake pearl necklaces, seashells, fake flowers, or anything you can think of!



All of the materials for these projects can be purchased from basic craft stores like JoAnn Fabrics, Wal Mart, Target, Pat Catan's, etc. This is a relatively inexpensive project for small college budgets :)


Tip of the day: The best way to make a small room feel larger is to incorporate bright colors.... lots of them. Try to stick to the same color palette, though, so your room is not overwhelmingly bright. You want it to be bright, but comfortable.