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Hand pinning a photo to a foam core fabric bulletin board in a kelly green fabric with the other two completed boards near by.
Print Recipe

DIY Fabric Bulletin Board with Foam Core

The DIY Fabric Bulletin Board with Foam Core is perfect for a room at home or school. A light weight and FAST to make diy pin board of any size.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Course: Decorative Craft
Cuisine: Craft
Keyword: DIY bulletin board, DIY fabric bulletin board, diy message board idea, diy pin board, diy pin board without cork, diy pinboard, family craft, kids craft, make a bulletin board
Servings: 1 bulletin board
Author: Shelly
Cost: $12

Equipment

  • Ruler or yardstick and pen
  • Utility knife (to cut the insulation)
  • Stapler
  • Scissors

Ingredients

  • 1 4x8 foot piece of insulation board (made of foam, often used on basement walls)
  • Fabric- in the size that fits the board you are making plus four inches extra in each direction (to lap over on the back).

Instructions

  • Choose your fabric in the size of your board plus 4 extra inches in each direction. So for the one foot by one foot board that I made, I needed a half yard of fabric (18” long by 44” wide) which gave me the 16x16” amount of fabric I needed. 
    The boards I used at school were 3 feet by 4 feet in size. When measured in inches this is 36”x48” in size. So I needed a piece of fabric that was 40”x52” in size. 
    I purchased 1 ½ yard fabric for each board (44”x 54” in inches). Hope that makes sense!!
  • Use a ruler or yard stick and a pen to measure and draw lines on the printed side of the board in the size you want to make your DIY Fabric Bulletin Boards.
    A Utility knife works well to cut the board along the line. If you are making this with kids, you may want to do this yourself depending on the age and ability of the child. 
    It works well to use the metal edge of the ruler as a guide while cutting the foam board. But, only cut about halfway down through the foam board!!
    Note: Don’t press all the way through the board as mentioned above or it will cut your table surface. 
    Gently bend the board. It will fully break along the cut line! Use the utility knife to carefully cut the plastic on this side of the board so it comes fully apart. Cool, huh?
  • Lay the fabric right side down onto the table top. Set your piece of foam onto the fabric.
    Make sure that the foam board is placed on the fabric with the blank side down. The black printing on the board can sometimes be seen through the fabric!
    You want a 2-inch edge of fabric all around the foam board. So measure and draw lines on the fabric to cut on or be brave and just go ahead and cut the fabric approximately two inches around the foam bo
  • Fold the corner of the fabric up onto the foam board and staple in place. You will need to open your stapler up so it can press down onto the foam board and staple freely.
    Do this with each of the four corners, very gently pulling the fabric so it is not wrinkly. 
    Note: Don’t pull the fabric very hard or the board will warp after it is on the wall.
    Then fold each side up and staple them in place.
    Boom! You're done!
  • I used binder clips to hang my boards but you could use Command strips if you prefer
    To hang my large DIY Pin Boards I used 2- two-inch binder clips at the top. Two nails in the wall will hold these in place. Or wires can be run up to the ceiling and attached there if is a false ceiling with panels like many schools have.
    A second option is to use Command Strips on the back and then place on the wall. After making your DIY bulletin board you can feel yourself how light weight they are so it doesn’t take much to keep them up!

Video

Notes

Before attaching the fabric it is good to give the material a good press with an iron. Not everyone has an iron anymore (declutter and minimalize, right?), but it helps get the creases out of the fabric.