Guest Post: Linen Bulletin Board with Nailhead Trim

Laurel here! It's so fun to be here. I feel like I should do some sort of introduction, but I fear that would bore you, so let's get onto the fun stuff!
I love Darby and her blog and when I saw this the wheels started turning:

I know she was showing off her apron, but that bulletin board was awesome! I knew I could do this and she even gives some info on hers. First I went to Home Depot and asked for the Homasote - that's what Martha Stewart always uses. They looked at me like I was crazy, but google said Home Depot carries it, and I believed google. So, I went to another Home Depot. Finally I said something like "I think they use it to soundproof rooms or something." A guy led me straight to the board and we were both smiling. It is kind of big and kind of messy. The guys will cut it for you. My tip - get them to use their saws - not a utility knife! Lesson learned.

I have some fake linen. I get it at Joanns by the muslin and it is about $3/yard - but at Joanns I always use a coupon. I started to cover the board, but since my sides weren't straight, I wanted to cushion them. Since I have three kids, I hate going out to do little errands like getting batting, so I made do with what I had. I had corduroy and cut 3"wide strips and just covered the edges. Then I stapled away!

I bought nailhead trim, also at Joanns, and was kind of scared. I like straight lines and wasn't confident I could get it straight. I drew a light pencil mark 1" from the border. Then I started pushing then pins in. Because I was using whatever-the-name-Home-Depot-people-call-it, the nailheads pushed right in.Still, I think I sprouted some more gray hairs making sure they were straight!
Then, I propped it against the wall and stared at it for a couple of days until I knew where to put it.Once I figured, I just screwed it into the studs. I figured the screws will always be covered with pictures, or drawings, or A+ papers.I cannot wait to fill this up. I just pinned in a couple of pictures I had around to see what it looked like. Darby has strings going across hers with little clothespins - love that! My friend suggested filling it up with black and white pictures - love that!Cost breakdown - $12 for the board, I had them cut mine into a 30"x60" and still have 2 other pretty big pieces. $3 for the fabric. $9 for the trim - but I only used half!

I assure you, that although the pictures know make the trim look a little wonky - which is driving my OCD into overdrive right now and I've taken about 50 more pictures - they are laser straight! Maybe it's just the angles. or my less than great camera!

Thanks Cheryl - if you miss her, you can find her here!