Getting Organized – Final Steps in Kids Room Part 1

May 4, 2012

Today was a fantastic day! After a long stretch of work and a million other little things to do, I finally got a day to catch up. It was so great to get the garden weeded, house cleaned, sew, shelves and curtains hung, and finally get my youngest son’s baseball bulletin board done.

Now this baseball bulletin board has been a thorn in my side for the last few weeks. I knew what I wanted but could never get the product I desired. First, I bought too thin of a cork board. Next, I tried many different materials for the stitching and hated every one of them. Finally, after many failures (trust me…it was ugly), I had a bulletin board I was proud of.

Baseball Bulletin Board

Supplies:

• Thick cork board with cardboard backing (size will vary depending upon the size of your project)
• White spray paint/acrylic paint
• Black or Red Sharpie marker – regular tip
• Measuring tape
• Box Cutter or Jigsaw
• Command damage-free hanging strips (I used the 12lb ones)

Directions:

1. First, you need to determine how large you want your bulletin board to be. I knew a size I desired, but couldn’t find a way to make a perfect circle on the board. Finally, I used the round tire cover out of my husband’s car. I place it on the FRONT side of the cork board and traced around the circle.

2. Next, you will need to cut out your board. I attempted to use an angled box cutter (which was working just fine, thank you), but my husband came in and whisked my cork board away. 10 minutes later, my husband returned with a beautifully round bulletin board he had cut out using a jigsaw. NOTE: Make sure you cut with the right side up. If you cut from the back, you cork will chip and look choppy in the front. Also, DO NOT throw away your scraps. You will need these pieces later.

3. Wipe down you cork board with a damp cloth. Paint the cork board front and sides with either spray paint or acrylic paint. It will take about 2 coats to gets good coverage. Make sure you let the coats dry in between.

I used spray paint which gives a more weathered/aged look to the “ball”. Use acrylic paint for more even coverage.

4. Next, you will need to take your measuring tape and measure around your bulletin board to get the circumference. My board measured 65 inches. Now, for the fun part…math. You need to take your board circumference and divide it by 4 (I got 16.25in). Measure around your board, marking your quarter measurements on the back of your board. Next, take your ¼ measurement and divide it by 2 (16.25/2=8.13 which I rounded to 8.10 inch). Mark this measurement between your ¼ measurements making a total of 8 marks on the back of your board. See below diagram.

The back of my board. See all my crazy math, markings and trials before I did anything permanent damage to the front

5. Place the right side of your board on the ground, with one of your tally marks at the top (as shown above). On the sided of your bulletin board, mark the 1/8 marks (indicated by the red marks above) with your sharpie. Next, take you discarded scraps and used the curved cut out to draw a curved line from the top red mark to the bottom red mark. Repeat with the other side.

Drawing the curve from the scraps

6. Draw your stitches on the curved line. From the top, I drew 1 ½ inch lines every 1 inch down each curved line. I drew mine straight across, following the curve, but if you look at a baseball, the stitching actually angles slightly. This is totally a personal preference, so whichever you choose.

Almost done. Don’t you love the weathered look from the spray paint!

7. Finally, apply your hanging strips as directed on the package and your done!

This looks so good above his desk and goes great with his sports themed room. He came home today and immediately started hanging his “important” papers from it. Perfect solution for my little sports writer.

Finished product!

I hope you enjoy making this Baseball Bulletin board for your little sports fan!