This is literally straight out of Do It Yourself magazine which is a Better Homes and Garden Special Interest Publication.  I splurged last minute in the checkout line at Home Depot and bought a copy.  I’m so glad I did – I discovered this cool bulletin board.  I really want a subscription to this magazine!!!!  But I’m kind of cheap so we’ll see.

We recently had a rental unit become vacant in our four-plex building (building has four units) and we are in need of some art in the common area.  I think this might be the perfect thing!  We’ll see how long it lasts though!  😉  I figure why put some generic piece of art when you can have something functional.  And it does look cute, don’t you think?  If someone wants to leave the tenants a note or something – wallah!

What you will need:

-Crochet yarn (whatever color you like-I did red, my favorite!) – found at Joann’s
-Decorative tacks (whatever style you like) – found mine at Joann’s
-Fabric (I used white linen – found at Joann’s)
-Felt (I used white felt – found by the yard at Joann’s)
-MDF board ( found in the lumber section at Home Depot – they had 2 x 4 boards and I had my husband cut one in half so I had to 2 2×4 boards).  I bet they will cut it for you at Home Depot if you ask someone though – they are awesome like that.  I didn’t think of it at the time.
-Hammer
-Pliers (needle nosed are important b/c those tacks are small!)
-Ruler
-Staple Gun and Staples

Directions:

1.) Cut and prepare the fabric:  Cut your fabric so that there is about 2 inches of fabric to wrap around the back of the board.  You will need enough to staple.  Cut the felt the same.  Iron the fabric.  I didn’t iron the felt.  Cut the corners of the fabric such that when you fold over and staple there won’t be too much fabric on the corners.  A little L-Shaped cut off all four corners – just won’t cut past the board itself – not really possible with the board lying on top of the fabric.  Don’t worry, you won’t screw it up.  I don’t even know if you really need to do this – it just makes it easier to staple the corners.

2.) Staple the fabric to the board: Lay the fabric down on the floor then lay the felt on top of it, then lay down the board.  Start on one side and wrap the fabric around then staple it about every few inches.  This is tricky since it’s better to use two hands on the staple gun.  No worries – you can always hammer the staples in more later if you need to – this is what I did.  Staple all around doing opposing sides first to pull taut the fabric as much as possible.

3.) Time to put the tacks in: First, measure out how many tacks will fit on your board base on how wide and long your board is.  I had a 2×2 board so I had 24 inches to work with on each side.  I wanted to put the tacks about 1 inch away from the sides and 3 to 4 inches of space between.  So, I did some fuzzy math and came up with 7 tacks across and 5 rows of tacks from top to bottom.  I placed the tacks 3.75 inches apart on the width which meant 7 tacks across and 5.5 inches apart on the height which meant 5 rows of tacks.  This left an inch around all the sides and enough room for pictures, envelopes, stuff like that.  I pencil marked the first row of tacks using a ruler and pencil and the start of each of the rows of tacks, but I kind of eye-balled the rest.  You will not be able to erase the pencil marks later (just fyi). It doesn’t have to be perfect. That’s what I tell the girls – art is art – the beauty is in the imperfections.    Hold the tack in place with the pliers and hammer away!  Those pliers are important b/c if it gets cock-eyed – that’s how it will go into the board.  Make sure to hold it straight.  I have a few crooked ones though and it’s fine!  Again, art is art!  Yes, I do consider bulletin boards art..  :-p

4.) Zig Zag away the yarn: Tie the yarn into a knot around the first tack you want to start from.  I just started from the upper left most tack.  Then, this is where the creative part comes in – you can zig-zag however you want.  Ever been to a work out or dance class and they say it’s time to free-style?  And everyone’s all excited dancing around like maniacs – well, that’s where my eyes get big and I look around dumb-founded – it’s frightening!  It’s kind of like that to me when someone says that with art b/c I’m not creative at all.  But I managed to come up with something and I don’t think you can really go wrong with it.  Then, when you are done, tie a knot around the last tack and you are done.  I went through and pushed all my thread down so that it’s flush against the board, but I’m not sure if that’s really necessary.

5.) Hang: Put pictures or Christmas/Birthday cards behind the yarn and hang on the wall – I always use Command Picture Hanging Strips!

The one on the left is the one my daughter did – I like hers better.  Here signifies the difference in the two minds – mine is chaotic – hers more organized.  :-p

Update:  I had to use a french cleat to hang these b/c they kept falling off the wall (professional, eh?).  I’m no longer fond of command strips – I’m starting to think it’s just a matter of time before the other stuff starts falling.  :-/  I used Liquid Nails to glue the french cleat to the back of the tackboard (it is hard to get it level this way though we just used some wall putty (the blue stuff used to stick things to the wall and shoved that in the french cleat space to level things out – a hack, I know – unless you can find a better way to level it) and then there is a level to hang the other part of the french cleat to the wall.  They cost about $8 at Home Depot and the one I got holds up to 60 lbs.