Fabric Bulletin Board How To

By Smockette

You will need the following supplies:

2 sheets foam core board, a little over an 1/8 inch thick

Polyester batting

Small sharp pins

A cutting knife

Tiny brads, from the scrapbook aisle of the craft store

An awl or and eyelet cutter

Sobo glue

Glue gun

Your fabric

Ribbon ¼ inch contrasting, 3/8 inch and 5/8 inch matching

1. Cut your two sheets of foam core the desired size of the bulletin board with the cutting knife.

You will need to cut the front, flip it over and cut the back. Cut batting to fit to the edge. Put one sheet aside.

2. With just a little glue from the glue gun place 2 layers of batting on the foam core.

3. Lay your fabric, face down on your work surface. Lay the batting side of the foam core down next on top. Cut your fabric at the corners diagonally appx ¾ of an inch from the edge. Pull this over the corner and hold with a strait pin. Do all corners. Pin the remaining fabric at North, East, South, and West pulling gently.

Flip the board to see that all is smooth.

4. If it is begin hot gluing the fabric to the back, pulling gently and working from the opposite sides. So, first do North, then South, etc. A border of an inch and a half is appropriate.

Miter your corners when you get to them. Flip over to check that all is OK again.

5. On the edge, measure down 2 ½ inches from each corner and put in a pin into the edge at that point.

6. Take your 3/8 inch ribbon and pin at these pins. Do this all the way around.

You will have your ribbons intersecting across the front of the bulletin board. You can add more ribbons if you like, depends on the size of the board.

If all looks OK, flip over and start gluing down the ribbons on the back with the glue gun.

7. Put board face up. Where the ribbons intersect, take your eyelet cutter or awl and holding the ribbons so they don’t move, punch thru them all the way thru the foam core.

Insert your little brads. On the back, open up the brads and flatten.

8. Take a length of the ¼ inch ribbon the width of the board plus about 3 inches. With the board face down, hot glue the ribbon to the back at each side.

This will make a loop that the second board will fit thru. It will become your hanger.

9. Take the Sobo glue and spread all over. Watch out for ribbon loop. Use a piece of cardboard to spread it out kind of thick but even. Now slip you second piece of foam core under the loop and line it up with the bulletin board.

Weight this down with lots of books and let dry overnight.

10. Take your 5/8 inch ribbon and hot glue at the corners and a couple of spots along the edge.

This will look dimply but don’t worry. Go all the way around the edge of the bulletin board getting nice and snug.

11. Now take your quarter inch ribbon and pin it down in the center of the 5/8 ribbon about 2 inches from a corner. Go around the edge again pinning about a half inch from each corner, no more.

At the end, overlap and pin. You need to use tiny pins for this. It hides the dimples.

12. Put in your photos, pattern instructions, sale ads, and inspirations.

ENJOY!

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