Budget Friendly Fabric Covered Corkboard

It all started with a little KISS...

If my son knows that I am taking pictures he will do just about anything to be in them.

I picked up this lovely original piece of art at a thrift shop. Fun fact: a kid who lived next door to me as a child painted this and it hung in his house. Weird. Anyway...I took out the painting and set it aside. (And no, you can't have it; it is mine.) I spray primed and painted the frame white. The frame is 18x24 inches and I didn't have any backing for it, so it sat in my basement until I spied some Elmer's foam board at Target for $2.49. I know this project has been done one thousand times over, but here is my version anyway.

For this project you will need:

• hot glue gun
• a frame without glass
  
• foam board or cardboard for backing (if the frame does not have any)
• cork tiles
• Exacto or utility knife
• pen
  
• fabric
  

First, I placed the frame on the foam board and traced inside the frame with a pen where I would need to cut. Then, I cut the board to size with a utility knife.

Next, I placed the cork tiles on the board. As you can see in the picture, I marked and then cut one of the tiles in half in order to properly fit my backing. You will want to leave about 1/4" of space around the outside so that it will fit inside your frame.

I then used my glue gun to secure them to my backing.


Next, I cut my fabric a little larger than my backing(this is half of a pillow case that I found at a thrift store.) I still had some trimming to do on the right hand side!

Time to glue the fabric to the backing. Start at one of the short ends and when you move to the opposite end pull the fabric tight as you glue.

Place your fabric covered board into your frame. I used my glue gun to close any visible gaps around the edge.

All done!
Here is my budget breakdown:
Frame: $3
Foam Board: $2.49
Cork Tiles: 4 for $5 (on sale)
Fabric: $.50
All Other Supplies: On Hand

That is a grand total of $11.99 (before tax.)

Have a great day!