DIY Boards: Dry Erase and Cork

For my first post it's only fitting to talk about one of my favorite projects!

Personalized Dry Erase Boards:
Materials: 2 pieces of scrapbook paper, tape, ribbon as long as your frame (I like to use the medium sized ribbon because it's not too big and not too small either), any size picture frame larger than a 12x12 (I think the longer kind look best, mine is a 12x15), and any other embellishments of your choosing. I got all of my supplies at Michael's but you can also get any of these at a Jo Ann's Fabric Store or Hobby Lobby.

This one I made for myself back in High School. I saw a dry erase board just like it at a small store in Franklin, TN and I decided to try to make it myself because it looked pretty simple. Back then I wasn't really into embellishments and I liked to keep my crafts simple so all I used were the basics for this one. Also the scrapbook paper I used already had a little birdie in the corner and I didn't want to overdo it. I used the ribbon to cover up the spot where the two pieces of scrapbook paper meet. Depending on the size of your frame you may need to cut the paper down or add more pieces. In this one I just layered two 12x12 pieces of scrapbook paper, no need to cut the smaller one.

Make sure when you make these, try to stay away from black scrapbook paper because it would be difficult to read. As you can see in the one below that I made for my best friend , I used a zebra print but I kept it on the small piece so that she could still read the writing on part of it. This kind of went with the theme in her room so that is why I still chose to use it. So if you do decide to use a black print or darker color, try to keep it on smaller piece instead of the larger part of the board. For hers I also used Velcro to stick an expo dry erase marker to the bottom for easy access.

This one I made for my college dorm room freshman year, as you can see, I used a black pattern again but I kept it to the smaller piece. Also as you can probably tell, I like to keep countdowns on mine!

I'm not going to post a step by step of these boards because it is pretty simple. If you would like instructions, please comment below and I can post them or send them to you.

Personalized Cork Boards
Materials: Cork Board (Most craft stores have plain cork boards), paint, embellishments, hot glue gun (I used this to glue on the flower in the picture below).

I made this cork board for my little, Kara, for her birthday last month. I know she likes the color pink just like I do so I used pink paint and a pink flower I found at Hobby Lobby. You can really embellish these any way you like but make sure to leave room so they can pin things on it and not cover up what you did too much. As you can tell, I like to keep it simple and clean. I've also been trying out some calligraphy which can be hard to do with paint and a paintbrush so this was an attempt at that. For longer names you can turn the cork board the other way and write it along the side or you can write it along the top.

Now for the next cork board, it has some different materials that are necessary for the look.

Materials: Burlap fabric, cork board, black paint, stencils of your choice, hot glue gun or thumbtacks.

I saw this type of cork board in a store and I thought it was so cute and that I could make it, which is what happens a lot. I used burlap fabric which was hard to find, I would suggest going to Jo Ann's or Hobby Lobby for this because Michael's does not carry fabrics. If you can't find it in the store it is pretty easy to find online. You can use a cork board like the previous one or thicker. I glued the burlap around the cork board and glued it to the back to keep it on. You can probably use thumbtacks but they may not stay as well. For best results use both. First pin the burlap the to back and then glue over it so it will stay.
Then you can use a stencil however you want, I chose a Chinese symbol and bamboo because it kind of had that feel to the board. Also I used black paint because in my opinion that looks best with the burlap. You can choose another color if you'd like.


If you'd like any further instructions, comment below and I'd be happy to explain more in depth.

Thanks for tuning in!

-K