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Bulletin Board – Thrifty Thursday – Worth Saving!

August 8, 2012 in Building and Repurposing, Gettin' Crafty, Thrifty Thursday, Wall Decor

As part of the Bloggers without Borders challenge, I decided to take on my office for some DIY projects this summer. I rearranged the space, but as of yet, I hadn’t made any bold changes to the decor.

A couple weeks back (or months?) I scored a HUGE bulletin board at a yardsale for $1. The tag said $2… but it never hurts to ask! Turns out the homeowner would rather negotiate a buck off than haul that big ol’ corkboard back in the house at the end of the day. …and for good reason – This thrifty find jusssst barely fit in the back of my car!

Told ya it was big!

I taped off the trim and that’s how it sat…. for weeks…. I couldn’t decide on a color… or a design… or ANYTHING.

So it sat…

and sat…

until this past SATurday!

I was doing some manic cleaning in a moment of insanity. (Sidenote – I hate cleaning, but man I feel better after it’s done!) Anywho… while I was cleaning I came across a vinyl wall decal I bought several years ago. I’d forgotten ALL about it. .. tucked away in the basement (along with enough other items to single-handedly have my own neighborhood block-party yard sale!).

I’m pretty sure I bought this decal before I’d even closed on my house… which means it’s over 2.5 years old. Wow! (Can you say hoarder?)

Anywho, here’s the down and dirty on how I cranked this project out:

Tape off the edges of the bulletin board.
Following the packaging directions, position the decal on the corkboard. Realize you’ll need to extend the decal a bit and grab some strips of painter’s tape.
Sketch out the branch on painter’s tape.
Use an exacto knife to cut the branch out.
Paint over the entire bulletin board with paint leftover from my bedroom (free supplies!). Two coats was perfect.

I came back to check on the second coat of paint, only to find Quinn snuggled up with the board. Without thinking, I said her name and she jumped up. Thank goodness it was tacky/dry enough on that side to not leave pawprints! In the second pic below, you can see the vinyl decal under the blue paint.

After chasing Quinn off the board, I peeled off the decal and painter’s tape, leaving exposed cork beneath!

Finally, I gave the border wood a quick two coats of Annie Sloan chalk paint in Old White. High-fives to NO sanding and surface prep!

Well? What do you think!? Want to see a before and after?

This could be a fun way to dress up bulletin boards in all sorts of rooms! What about a vinyl decal in the shape of a chandelier or tiara – PERFECT for a teen girl’s room. Boys room? There are plenty of “boy” decals too!