DIY Bulletin Board Refashion Tutorial #1

I've been trying to redo the everyday items we use in our kitchen - well, all around our house, actually - so that they don't look so...ugly.  There, I said it.  I'm tired of having things in my kitchen that are a decade or older and LOOK like it.  I don't mind old stuff, I just don't want it to look junky.  Here's a picture of what our bulletin board looked like before:

B.O.R.I.N.G

There was nothing inherently wrong with it, I was just tired of it, you know?  Then when I was at Hobby Lobby, I saw this and thought the stripes were adorable. 

So, I took that idea and started running.  Here's what I came up with and what you'll need to do it yourself:

Materials:

Old bulletin board (without a wooden backing - MDF is fine, but solid or hard wood is not going to work with this method - you'll need to get a band saw or whatever they call it.)

Yard stick

Box cutter

Fabric - (Mine was called "Oatmeal" something or other and I got it at Walmart for $2.50/yard or something like that)

painters' or masking tape

paint

foam brushes

Stapler and staples

Freezer paper

Iron and ironing board

Step 1:

Rip that sucker out of its frame!  I thought this would be a simple "pop-it-out-the-back-of-the-frame" procedure.  Ha ha ha!!!  WRONG!  The bulletin board actually fit inside a groove in the frame, so I went all ninja on it and starting ripping it out by hand - the hardest way possible.  I suggest you use your box cutter to cut it out as best you can or somehow manage to take the frame apart first so you can just pull the cork board portion out.

Step 2:

Measure and cut the board to the dimensions that you would like for your wall, or just even off the edges - I had to ;P

Step 3: Lay your fabric out (iron it first to get it really crisp) and lay your bulletin board on top of it and cut around with enough to staple to the back.

Step 4: 

Get your mod podge and slather that stuff on the front of your bulletin board, then smooth your fabric over the top of it. 

Step 5: Staple the extra fabric to the back, doing sides first and leaving corners for last (Open stapler so it lays flat and push onto the fabric, like you would on a bulletin board on the wall). 

 Here are some detailed pictures on how to get a crisp corner:

Step 6: Flip back over and carefully place your tape in even intervals.

(Fold edges of tape over for crisp edges on sides)

Step 7: Paint the part of fabric that is uncovered by the tape - this will take A LOT of paint, just be aware of that when purchasing)

Step 8: Carefully peel off the tape.

(You might need to resmooth the fabric out because the tape will probably pull the fabric up in certain places)

Step 9:  Here's the fun part - find a shape that you like.  I did a google image search and found an outline I liked.  Then go to Blockposters.com.  This is an A-MAZ-ING website.  You can upload any picture and it will blow it up for you to print off on a certain amount of paper - for FREE!!  So if you want the picture to be three pages wide, then it will figure it out, and you can print it out, assemble it (tape it together for sure!) and you have your very own large template!  I'm in LOVE :D

Step 10: Once you have your template cut out and ready, trace it onto freezer paper (with shiny side DOWN) and cut that out like a stencil.

Step 11: Iron freezer paper to board and paint in the middle.  The image is crispest if you paint from the freezer paper in so that paint doesn't leak under the edges.  Peel freezer paper off when done - be careful not to get any paint on the rest of your board.

Excuse my chubby preggo feet ;P

Step 12: Let dry and then hang on your wall :D  There are several ways to accomplish that, which I will cover in the Bulletin Board Refashion Tutorial #2 

You can also make really cute push pins by gluing rhinestones to thumb tacks (shown in picture) 

Enjoy your beautiful new bulletin board!  Unfortunately for me, this matched NOTHING in my kitchen, so I had to try again, coming soon!

***I fully recognize that any amount of intelligence or creativity I have is a gift from God.  What I have been freely given, I freely give.  But if you choose to use these tutorials to sell items from, I would ask that you consider joining the Let Justice Flow Initiative, where you commit to donating either 10% of the total purchase price of each item, or designate a specific item for sale where the entire purchase price is donated to an organization that helps fight injustices around the world.  There are specific groups listed to give you an idea on the LJF page.  And feel free to snag the LJF button and put it on your page or etsy site.  Thanks!!***