Custom Cork Boards

Organizing doesn’t have to be ugly.  Not only can you find adorable organizing products, you can make your own that go with your decor.   Not too long ago I posted about customizing plain cord boards (bulletin boards) with fabric.    I had two more boards in the pack and I starting thinking about how I could make them fun and whimsical as well.  Well, I decided to paint them!  Here’s how…

So here’s what you’ll need for this project:

Paint…any color…these are colors I had in my craft supply.  Since you won’t be using a lot (depending on the size of your cork board), you can use scraps from other projects.

Painter’s tape…available in various thicknesses…I used a two inch roll of tape

Foam paint brushes…you could use “real” brushes, however, I have lots of foam brushes on hand (I bought them in a 20 pack on Amazon for about $4).  I wash them off after using them.  Since they are so inexpensive, if something goes wrong and I have to throw it away, I’m not devastated.

The cork tiles are about 8×8 inches.  I bought them in a four pack at Michael’s for $3.

 

Decide on the patterns you want on your boards.  Here I’m showing you a striped board and a chevron pattern.  I ripped the tape by hand, placed it on the board and affixed the extra tape to the back to avoid bleeding of the paint.

I grabbed a paper cup to hold the paint brushes as I used them.  As you can see, they barely get dirty during this process and can easily be washed with warm water (depending on the paint you are using)

This is what the cork boards looked like after painting, before removing the tape.  The cork will absorb a little paint, so you may want to evaluate and put another coat on if necessary.

Once I removed the tape I could see the blank space I had.  I decided to add some more strips to one on the left.

I waiting until it dried COMPLETELY and then put on additional stripes of painter’s tape.  I played with the colors a bit more.  Again, I waited until it dried and then removed the tape.  

For a super cute way to display kid’s artwork, have them paint their hands and put their hand print on the cork tile.  Then, add their name with permanent marker.  Little cork boards like this are great to store notes by the door, on the fridge and in your office.  Be create and let me know what you come up with in the comments below!