Pottery barn cork board knock off

I saw this bulletin board in Pottery Barn's catalog recently and knew I had to make a knock off. As a constant garage saler, I know that bulletin boards are a dime a dozen, I just had to wait until I found one. And last Friday I found one...for a dime! So with this pottery barn picture and this post for inspiration, I set to work.

And this is what I came up with! Isn't it amazing?! It's probably my favorite thing I have crafted so far.

Here is the before picture that I took when I was so darn giddy for finding this for a dime!
And a close up of the back in need of a cork board.

I knew I could buy cork, but decided to use some cardboard that I had lying around. I had my husband cut it to size. He doesn't trust me with large sharp objects!


I then covered it with burlap. I thought I would share my trick on cutting burlap. You find where you want to cut, then pull the thread that is there totally out.




When you pull it will gather, just keep tugging.



It then leaves you with a gap in the burlap so then you know where to cut and as a bonus, you get a nice straight line!






I then took the burlap and stapled it down. When I did the corners, I wrapped them like I would wrap a package. The more staples the better, you want it to be tight!





Then I used my super industrial glue gun on high temp, glued the whole cardboard down and put my husbands weights on it to help it set.


Then the fun started! The Pottery Barn board has postage stamp like designs on it, and I looked and looked for any clip art I could use or large stamps from the craft store, and came up empty handed. I finally just bit the bullet, and thought I would try to free hand it. So, I went on a little hunt around the house and used the above objects as my stencil. I just brushed the edges with black paint, pressed them down on a test paper to get rid of some of the paint, then put it where I wanted on the burlap.



Then I took my paint and free handed the things inside. I was SO nervous about this part because I didn't want to mess it up, but I think it turned out really well! And I love it, because each "stamp" has significance to our family. The T stands for our last name, there are 5 of us in our family, we live in the Seattle area, and the 3 is for our three kids.. I even put our wedding date on there!




Here it is before I put the wire on it.




You could stop here, but why?


I found some large gauge wire today in the floral section of JoAnn's. I put nails into the sides at 12 inches and 6 inches up from the bottom and secured the wire by twisting it to the nails. I even added curtain rings to clip things to.











Don't you love it? I do! Oh, and I forgot to mention, the space needle picture is on there because it's where we got engaged twelve years ago!


The back is still a chalkboard so I can put our nightly menu on it. Hopefully, it will put a stop to my tween asking every three minutes what's for dinner!

I am linking up to some of these parties


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34 comments

La-Dee-da crafter said...

Holy cuteness!!!
I am so going to follow you.
Creationsbyladeeda.blogspot.com.
I am a new craft blogger!

Unknown said...

You did a fantastic job! I love it!
~Rebekah

Kenzie said...

I absolutely love it! Amazing job!!

lisbonlioness said...

Pottery Barn can get lost! :D Love your version, way cooler than their stuff!

CraftCrave said...

Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave today [22 Apr 02:00pm GMT]. Thanks, Maria

beckaboots said...

This is an awesome knock-off. And I love how you hand painted- It is really hard to find a nice large stamp and you did a great job! Awesome :)
-Bekah

Laura said...

This is so cute. I loved the way it turned out!

I am hosting "Saturday is Crafty Day" on April 24th and would love it if you stopped by!

Kendra Goodrich said...

Cute idea! Why pay all that money when you can make it yourself!!!

Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence said...

It turned out great, thanks for the shout out and for linking up!

Jess said...

Love the blog-I'm visiting from New Friend Friday!

Unknown said...

Wow! This is really awesome....Ok I think I just got inspired!! :) As always I love your blog!

Anonymous said...

I like yours better that the pottery barn version. You rock the cork board!

Just popping in on my Friend Making Friday rounds. Love your blog and wanted to say hello.

Morgane @ Bear,Dolly and Moi said...

very cool, and personalized, so even better PB!

Just Wrap It Fitness said...

I hopped over from The Two Savvy Sisters Blog and am so happy that I did, love your blog. Please accept my invitation to drop in at my place one day this week when you get a moment. I have become a follower and I hope you’ll do the same.
Nicole @ The Two Savvy Sisters

Kelley said...

VEry cute...and I love how it is relevant to your family... you cant buy that at PB.
have a great weekend.

Laura said...

Thanks for linking up to Saturday is Crafty Day @ along for the ride! Hope to see you back next week!

Kate said...

I LOVE this! It looks just like the original. Thanks for the tip for cutting burlap. I'll definitely remember that!

Amy Kinser said...

You did a great job on this project. I love it and love the personalized dates you put on it.

I am partying with you tonight. Stop by for a visit.

Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans said...

WOW! That is so fabulous! : )

Pati @ A Crafty Escape said...

Amazing! You did a great job and would have never been able to find something with so much significance anywhere.

Lisa B. said...

You did a wonderful job free handing. Love the double duty memo/chalk board and for a DIME!

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

Another amazing creation! Looks fabulous! Thanks for linking to the Sunday Showcase! Hope you have a great week! ~ Stephanie Lynn

Kaysi said...

Super cute! I love that you kept the back a chalk board!

awal.ny said...

I love the idea, very cute. Thanks for showing how.

kim said...

this is so cute & i love that it cost you practically nothing!

Stacey said...

This turned out fantastic! I love it and that it cost hardly anything. Thanks for sharing at 'Look at me, I'm SO Crafty!' at Fun to Craft.

extreme personal measures said...

Stopping by from Marketing Monday on Trendy Treehouse. I am a follower! I love all your crafts!

Stacey said...

This is awesome. I love how it turned out! I am featuring it as part of my 'Look at me, I'm SO Crafty!' Party at Fun to Craft. Thanks so much for linking it up. Come by and snag a button!

Tausha said...

So super cute! I am loving that you made your own stamps! It is so much more meaningful when we make our crap sentimental! (i so mean that in the nicest of ways-my house is full of crap!!!)
I am thrilled that I found you-can't wait to see what other treasures you have!
Please stop by sometime and say hello!!
Happy Friday!!

Linda@CraftaholicsAnonymous said...

Love a great knock off and you did a great job! Thanks for joining the Craftaholics Anonymous Support Group! I had fun stopping by and checking out your craftiness!
Linda

Anonymous said...

Cute idea!

Beth said...

I would be proud of that baby too! You did an awesome job. Thanks so much for linking up!

Amy Kinser said...

Looks great! You had a great find and made an awesome knockoff.

From G2B said...

I love this knock off! This was what I was originally planning to copy when I made my grain sack bulletin board instead. But so love yours!! Great job!!

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