Giant Monogrammed Bulletin Board

I've been wanting a giant (3 x 4 foot!) pin board/bulletin board to hang in our breakfast nook to help personalize the space and showcase/corral all of the children's artwork, report cards, photos, etc. Because they are outrageously expensive, I knew I'd have to make something myself. I considered and rejected affixing a cork sheet to MDF (heavy + cork sheets are rather thin) or putting a bunch of small cork boards together to create the size I wanted (still expensive.) Then, Emily A. Clark (one of my favorite bloggers) posted her son's extra large pin board and I knew I'd found the perfect cheap and easy project. I immediately pinned it and patted myself on the back for actually making it a few days later.  A Pinterest success!

Wanna make one?  You'll need:

Foamular Insulating Sheathing from Home Depot ($12 and they will cut it to size for you)
fabric to cover the memo board (I used leftover burlap)
gold tacks (from the Dollar Store)
packing tape/duct tape to affix the fabric (you can also use a staple gun)
wooden or chipboard monogram

Because the foam was purple, I painted the front with a sample can of beige paint I found in the garage.  I was afraid the purple might show through the loose weave of the burlap material.  Of course if you use a drop cloth, as Emily did, you won't need to do this.

After the paint dried, I cut my burlap about five inches larger than my board, wrapped it around, pulled it as tightly as I could, and taped it on.  I cut some off some of the excess fabric at the corners to remove some of the bulk because I wanted it to hang as flat against the wall as possible. 

 

I put command strips on the corners after it was all taped up.

And then dressed it up with brass tacks.  I originally wanted to place the tacks all around but felt lazy thought it actually looked better like this.

Then, I attached a large chipboard W in the corner (using command strips)

and hung everything I could find to fill it up.  I know, the photo is horrible.  I finally started my online photography course, though, so things should be looking up soon!

What's on the board?  The kid's artwork, photos and a few of my favorite postcards from Sugarboo Designs.

This picture was created by Jack after he visited the farm on a preschool field trip and learned about farm crops.  The teacher asked them what they would make with the cotton they picked and Jack said underwear.  Hee hee.  Well, we all need it, right?

I quickly unloaded some of the artwork when I realized I'd need room for the constant flow of new stuff.

What would you make with your cotton, hmmm?

Linking up to Megan from The Remodeled Life, Katie from Bower Power, John and Sherry from Young House Love and Michelle from Decor & The Dog.