Every office or dorm room needs a handy cork board to tack up ideas, photos, schedules, and other miscellaneous goodies. Instead of going out and purchasing a flimsy cork board without personality, create your own!
For this project, you will need: cardboard and construction paper or poster board, super glue, two small hand mirrors, a large supply of same-sized corks (the kind from wine bottles)
Creating your own cork board can be as simple or complex as you desire. The more complex version will create a stylish end result which incorporates mirrors. The simple version is geared toward practicality, meant for building a board that will hold up to heavier wear and tear. Either way, the steps are relatively the same:
Prepare your board.
A poster board may not be sturdy enough to hold the weight of mirrors and corks. Test the flexibility of your board prior to applying the pieces. If you can bend it easily, find a thicker board to use. Cardboard is a good substitute, but the plain brown color may peep through the corks. To dress up the board, you can glue on construction paper (of any color).
Place your mirrors. (If you don’t have mirrors, skip to step 3.)
If you are crafting a more complex cork board, the mirrors add a great dimension. Adhere them with super glue to opposing corners of the board.
Glue down corks.
This step of the process will consume the most time. Each individual cork must be glued down to the board. Corks can be lined up vertically or horizontally. In addition, they should be adhered as closely as possible to one another. While the end product will have ridges, the corks will supply ample area for pinning notes, photos, etc.
Allow to dry.
Super glue dries/hardens rather quickly, but you want to make sure the project is lying flat as it dries. This will ensure the corks stay in alignment, as opposed to slipping out of place.
Enjoy!
Stick a handful of thumbtacks into the cork board so that they are at the ready for your little reminders and decorations!
It’s almost time to hang your new cork board, but it’s not yet complete. What’s missing? A frame! Even though you don’t want glass covering the front of your final project like a typical framed picture, you still want to frame the cork board to give it a few more style points! So with your corks cork board in hand, head to the nearest Frame Warehouse to shop the wide selection of options available to dress up your wall.
