Create: It's On the Walls

I have a horrible habit of being broke.  It's not that I spend money on things so therefore I have no money, it's that I'm paying off old bills and being a single mom.  On the plus side, it makes me think outside the box at times on how to accomplish things I want without paying money.

One of the things I really wanted, especially once I moved, was more bulletin boards.  I wanted to have a place to tack up things that I fancy and that will help me with my writing and blogging goals.  I had the idea previously but had never accomplished it.  But given the large amount of cardboard laying around my house after the move, it was inevitable that I would finally get down and accomplish making my own bulletin boards.

These three boards are built out of one cardboard box and different stashed fabric.  As you can tell, I am still not done unpacking... One of these days!

One cardboard sheet by itself is not enough to stop tacks from going through the wall.  So I took two sheets and glued them together.  This also helped because my cardboard box was not big enough to have the expanse be a full sheet.  So there is a crease in the middle of each of my sheets.  But I crossed the creases so that while one was horizontal, the other was vertical.  It strengthened my board and gave it the thickness it needed.  Using this option also gives you the change to make much larger sizes than you would otherwise. 

All you need is cardboard, fabric, stapler (and/or glue), and nails to hold it to the wall.

1.  Cut your cardboard into pieces your desired shape.  Make sure you have two of the same shape to create the right thickness.  Three might even be better. 

2.  Glue your pieces together and let them dry.  I used tacky glue.  Keep in mind that you don't have to glue the entire piece.  I went just around the edges and x'd across.

3.  Use your pieces as a template for cutting our your fabric.  Cut a larger shape than your cardboard, about two or three inches on each side.

4.  Once your fabric is centered, for a square, open up your stapler and staple the corners of the fabric to the cardboard.  With a circle, I imagine you would pick points on your circumference to staple, working back and forth to create an even pull. 

5.  Fold up the long edges of your fabric like you are wrapping a present and staple the fabric to the cardboard.  I stapled in the center and then at the edges.  You could experiment to see what works better for you.

6.  Once you have all your long edges covered, place on your wall and hang!

I used nails through my board because I forgot early in the construction that I wanted to try to put tacks in between the cardboard.  You could push the flat headed tacks into one of the boards, then glue the other on top of it.  You might have enough tack left over to hold it into the wall. 

Create and enjoy!