What’s that one thing you can always find at thrift stores?
Used bulletin boards.
Thrift stores are overflowing with them.
They are perfect for upcycling! Let me show you how to make a fabric covered bulletin board that will bring color and pattern to your home decor.
Plus I’m joining forces with lots of bloggers who have tons of thrifty upcycle ideas (just like my bulletin board) to get your creative wheels spinning.
Welcome to this month’s Thrift Store Decor Upcycle Challenge!
The Rules:
- Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
- There’s no monthly theme.
- There’s no budget to stick to.
Meet the Hosts
Amanda | The Kolb Corner Maureen | Red Cottage Chronicles Kim | Made in a Day
Dru | Polka Dot Poplars Erlene | My Pinterventures Colleen | Life on Kaydeross Creek Megan | C’Mon Get Crafty Pili | Sweet Things
Shirley | Intelligent Domestications Debra | Shoppe No. 5 Marie | DIY Adulation
Chelsea | The Johnsons Plus Dog Jes | My DIY Envy Lindsay | Crazy Organized
Molly | Just a Little Creativity Ashley | 3 Little Greenwoods Kimm | Reinvented Michelle | Our Crafty Mom
Jeannee | Shepherds and Chardonnay Sue | A Purdy Little House Sara | Twelve on Main
Claire | Pillar Box Blue Chelc | Inside the Fox Den Kim | Farmhouse Made Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled
Sherry | Savvy Apron Jennifer and Vicki | 2 Bees in a Pod Lora | Craftivity Designs
Medina | Grillo Designs Denise | My Thrifty House Toni | Small Home Soul
Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!
How to Make a Fabric Covered Bulletin Board for a Family Command Center
Remember the Family Command Center I shared a couple of weeks ago?
One of the key elements to making a command center a stylish piece of home decor a fabric covered bulletin board. It’s a super simple project that can be completed in an afternoon.
This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my complete disclosure policy.
Fabric Bulletin Board: Supplies Needed
Thrifted Bulletin Board (purchase one here)
Spray Paint
Adhesive Spray (purchase here)
One Yard of Patterned Fabric (purchase the gray arrow fabric I used)
1/4″ Black Grosgrain Ribbon (purchase here)
Metal Thumbtacks (purchase here)
Step One: Prep and Spray Paint Bulletin Board
Our very important Family Command Center all began with this $3.03 thrift store bulletin board. This blank slate had great potential to be the centerpiece our family’s organization.
If you can’t find one at the thrift store, this bulletin board is just like the one I used.
Prep the bulletin board by covering the center with newspaper then spray painting the frame.
Tip: Use even, light coats of spray paint. Nobody wants to see messy little spray paint drips!
Step Two: How to make a Fabric Covered Bulletin Board
Measure the center of the board then cut the fabric to fit. Trim edges as needed.
The goal is to have the fabric fit just inside the wooden frame.
Attach the fabric to the bulletin board using adhesive spray. I love this spray glue!
One can has lasted a long time and has been used to make a St. Patrick’s Day Leprechaun Hat, a large piece of artwork for our mantel, and many more projects!
Love the gray arrow fabric used to make this project? Click here to purchase it for fabric covered bulletin board!
Step Three: Add details
Now that the bulletin board has a new coat of paint and a fabulous pattern, it’s time to add the little details. It’s the details that turn this thrift store find into a piece of home decor you can be proud of.
First, measure the inside edges of the board. Cut pieces of 1/4″ black grosgrain ribbon to be placed around the inside edges.
Tip: Melt the ends of each ribbon with a candle to prevent fraying.
Next use silver metal thumbtacks to attach the ribbon to the board. Space each thumbtack an inch apart.
Spacing the thumbtacks evenly apart will create the look of nailhead trim.
It’s such a super easy and inexpensive home decor project! Don’t you love how the gray arrow fabric bring the whole space together?
This is one of my favorite projects and I have used this tutorial for how to make a fabric covered bulletin board several times.
This first one hangs over my desk in our Southern Gentleman’s Home Office. It has become a great spot to hang blogging checklists, pictures of the children, and sticky notes. Lots and lots of sticky notes!
Hope this tutorial has inspired you to make a fabric covered bulletin board! Where would be the one place in your house where you would need this the most?
And now for more thrifty goodness!
Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!
Visit Ashley @ 3 Little Greenwoods’s profile on Pinterest.
I link up with these fun parties!
Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and/or is a sponsored post. I may receive compensation in the form of monetary compensation or product compensation in exchange for my review. I take pride in reviewing only products that fit my brand and will be beneficial to my readers. And while this post is sponsored or contains affiliate links, all the opinions are my own. Why do I do this? It will help me keep this DIY’ing Mama crafting for another day! For more on my disclosure policy click here.
I have a couple of those old notice boards, I think I will be covering them in fabric now. Thanks.
Love that pretty yellow fabric on the office bulletin board! I love an easy upcycle project that solves a problem. I think I will make one for my daughter. She would love this to keep up with her childrens activities.
I love that you went around the edge with tacks! It gives it a very posh and finished design. Cork boards are perfect for command centers. So easy to organize all of those random bits your family inevitably has.
Ashley this is a terrific idea – and it looks so pretty! Love your creativity!
So excited that you love our command center bulletin board!
Super pretty and practical! Love the addition of the tacks. Visiting from Thrift Store Challenge.
Great choice of fabric! I like the detail of the nailheads, too.
I definitely need something like this in my office! Love that fabric too!
I have a few of these bulletin boards laying around, and always feel like they’re so… blah! Such a great project!!
That turned out very nice! I love the arrow Fabric and the nail head trim!
Thanks so much, Jeannee!
I see old bulletin boards all the time at the thrift store. This is a great idea. You made it so beautiful!
Oh I love the thumbtacks for added glam! I also love those red pans with your kids names on them! How clever!
Kim
What a smart idea. I’m going to be doing some corkboards in my daughter’s room and I hadn’t even thought about checking thrift stores. Thank you so much for the inspiration.
One can never have enough bulletin boards with kids. I love that using fabric can customize the board to fit any decor. It fits right into your command center.
This is an awesome and inexpensive thrift store flip with big impact. Thanks for sharing your creativity with us.
What a great command center! Awesome job!
Oh wow, your bullet board turned out super cute! Love that fabric and how you added the thumb tacks. Very nice command center!
Thanks so much, Linda! So excited you liked our family command center bulletin board.
Wow, that really started out ugly, but now it’s awesome and beautiful. It fits perfectly in your family command center. Nice job!
Thanks so much, Toni! It adds such pattern and color to our family command center.
I always see bulletin boards at thrift stores for such a great price. I will definitely pick one up now. I love the fabric!
YAY! So happy you were inspired to find a bulletin board for yourself.
Very cute idea! You’re right. I always see a ton of these at the thrift store!
Thanks so much, Chelsea! I need to find a few more for our playroom. They would make a great spot for the children’s artwork.
Love this idea to make the cork board fit the decor of the room. What a nice custom look.
Thank you, Debra! The thrift stores are usually full of used cork boards. Go grab one, find your favorite fabric, and make one for your home. Where would you put a bulletin board like this?
Very pretty bulletin board! I made one years ago by covering the whole bulletin board with fabric and ribbon. I love how you did this one by making the fabric fit inside of the frame, and using the metal tacks with the ribbon.