Art Cork Board DIY

I made of these for my classroom a few years ago when I was teaching. When I retired, I thought I wouldn't want it, so I gave it to another teacher. Welllll now I want one for my studio. So I made another:) It's cheap and sooo easy. Best of all, it's very light on your wall.

 Here's how:

1. For about ten dollars you can get a 4 by 8 sheet of this foam insulation stuff at Lowes or Home Depot. I used a little less than half for this board.
2. Buy some pretty fabric (on sale of course) to cover it with. This can be inexpensive cotton. This time I used a home decor fabric because it was blue (my fav color) and a paisley kinda design, and of course it was on clearance!
3. Cut the fabric a bit larger than the board of course so it will wrap around. Then secure with tape. You can use clear packing tape, or even duck tape.

    

4.  Foam core doesn't always hold thumbtacks real well and you want some dimension on your board, so you some cork tiles. I got mine at Hobby Lobby with a coupon, but I've seen them at Staples, Walmart and Lowes.

5.  Now add some wide ribbon to hang it with. You can poke holes in the insulation with a paper piercing tool, or an ice pick. I used a hand drill. Then I used a paper piercing tool to poke the ribbon through.

Look closely to see the cork squares. Yeah, I need two more, but Hobby Lobby is out of them! {gasp} I'll add them as soon as I get some more.

6. On Pinterest, I found how to make fabric covered thumbtacks! I'm working on those now. I'll show them to you tomorrow.

This is the first one I made for my classroom. It was my "keep up with everybody & everything board." 29 kids last year, extra computer lab times, speech, spec. ed, Phy.Therapy for individual kids, meetings, and assemblies to keep up with ... oh and alll the due dates for paperwork. Arrrg! I'm retired and I don't miss that part!!

Couple more projects

Some old wine corks and picture frame make a great trivet. Add handles to mason jars with some wire (I soldered them) some sand and scented candles. These are all gifts for my friend Patty, who is retiring this year from teaching. She's a great teacher, and countless kids won't have the opportunity to be in her class. To keep teachers like us from leaving the profession, give teachers  more respect, more support for discipline issues, more pay, less students and less paper work.