The first step involves acquiring the necessary materials and proper tools. It is best to get everything prepared and set-up before commencing because you become free to progress without unnecessary interruptions.

The image to the right shows the bulletin board with a frame around it. Adding the frame adds to the difficulty and requires some extra patience and tools; we discuss how to add the frame in the review section below.

Now that you have all of the tools and materials, we can jump right into the project. First cut the plywood to the desired size. We made our bulletin board about 20" by 24" (50 x 60cm) and this is on the small side. There really is no limit to the size that you can make the board. Make sure there aren't any sharp edges that might interfere with the fabric.

Once the board is cut, you can size the fabric to it. Make sure that you have about 4" (10cm) extra in both the width and length so you can wrap it around the edges of the plywood. If your fabric has a pattern (like ours does) take this into consideration in your planning; make sure that the pattern is aligned to the wood in a pleasing way. During this layout stage, keep in mind that the ribbons will be positioned in a 45 degree angle.

Next, you need to stretch the fabric around the plywood. It should be taut but you don't need to make it drum-tight. Align the fabric to the board as desired and flip it over. Pull the fabric tight and tap in a few thumb tacks around the perimeter. You can also use a staple gun. Flip it over again to check how everything looks: and if it is suitable, continue tapping tacks in about every 2" (5cm) or so. Pull the fabric tight as you tap in each successive tack. After you have made it all the way around, you can cut the excess fabric with a utility or hobby knife as we did in the photo on the right. To prevent fraying, you can apply white glue to the edges of the fabric; we simply squeezed the glue directly from the container to the fabric edges.

Next you need to attach the ribbon. We have found that the ribbon holds messages best if you position them at a 45 degree angle to the bulletin board. They should be anywhere between 4" and 6" (10-15cm) apart. We made ours parallel to eachother, but of course you can get creative if you like. Measure out the placement of the ribbons and make small pencil marks wherever you want to place them. Wrap them around the edges of the board and tap in a tack at each end (on the underside of the plywood) to hold them in place. You can also use a staple gun for this step. Note that our fabric had a checkerboard pattern and we used this pattern as a guideline for our ribbons; it gives a very interesting effect.

Once you are done, you can tap a tack into each intersection of the ribbon. The final step is to attach a hanging device to the back: you can treat it as you would a heavy framed painting. You can use a hook or picture wire; whatever you do make sure that the board will hang securely.

Additions to the Bulletin Board

frame

It is easy to add a frame to the bulletin board. We simply purchased some pre-primed pine molding and routed a rabbet into the corner. The molding we used is about 2" (5cm) wide and 5/8" (16mm) thick: We made the rabbet about 5/8" (16mm) wide and about 7/16" (11mm) deep. This rabbet will be placed right onto the corners of the bulletin board. Using a miter box saw cut the pieces to fit your bulletin board, and then paint them before proceeding. While you have the paint out you may want to paint the heads of a set of tacks that will be used for the intersections of the ribbons: this will aesthetically associate two of the elements of the project.

Once the paint is dry, attach the frame to the bulletin board with short brads and hit them into place with a nail set. You can fill the holes and any gaps at the joints, with some wood filler, and after it dries, you can touch up the frame with some paint. As shown in the image on the right, we chose a color for the frame that matched another color in the room to tie the decor together.

hooks

As shown in the image on the right, you can add hooks to the bottom and/or sides of the bulletin board to hold keys etc.

cork

You can attach a sheet of cork to the wood below the fabric. With this addition, you would be able to use the ribbons as well regular tacks to hold your papers. Cork can be purchased in sheet form at many hardware stores and it can be affixed to the wood with spray adhesive. Wrap the fabric over the cork as described in the plan above. If you use cork, note that ordinary thumb tacks will not work well at the intersections of the ribbon; we want the tacks to penetrate into the wood so that they are firm. You will have to find extra long tacks that will reach through the cork and into the wood - these are available but not particularly easy to find.

design considerations

The bulletin that we show in the plan is just a basic version; there are many options and embellishments that you can include.

fabric

You can use any fabric you like but it should be durable. If you are using cork behind the fabric as described above, you should choose and open-weave fabric so that the tacks do not leave visible holes. If you are not using cork, you can choose virtually any fabric because you will not be using tacks.

size

This bulletin board can be made to any size. You could use an entire sheet of plywood if you like, as long as you have a piece of fabric big enough to cover it. Of course if you choose something so large, you will need to attach it to a wall in a very secure manner.

other ideas

You can position the ribbon parallel to the edges of the plywood as opposed to a 45 degree angle. Then you could mount the entire board on the wall at a 45 degree angle in a diamond shape. This would give a very dynamic look and would be easy to create. If you do this, you should probably use the same dimension for the length and width of the plywood so that it doesn't look lopsided, unless that is the look you are after.