Last week we revealed my niece’s tween bedroom makeover and while I didn’t need to do another crazy custom bulletin board, I know that tweens love them (and big ones are strangely expensive). I also wanted to make sure that this room (with all dope AllModern furniture) was still youthful and playful and had some trendier elements to keep it from being too sophisticated. And listen, this wacky corkboard is giving Nickelodeon vibes for sure, but you could take the same steps and do your own pattern (even just scalloped edges with bowls), using the same tools. So here goes…a fun squiggly DIY corkboard for you (or the tween/teen in your life).
Cork Roll | XL Foam Core (bought individually in-store) | Spray Glue | Hot Glue Gun | Bowls
I had a giant roll of cork I’d been hoarding for a project such as this. On its own, the cork is thin and can tear easily if you’re not careful, so Gretchen found a large piece of foam core at Blick’s to serve as the backing. We knew we wanted to hang this above my niece’s dresser, so that meant it needed to be big enough to take up ample space on such a large wall, but not so big that it would take over. The board we went with is about 40”x 60” and pretty thick, like 1/2”, so that future push pins have enough to stick into.
To trace the squiggle shape we took a stack of bowls and lined them up, side by side, around the edge of the board. These bowls were snagged from my brother’s kitchen. I accidentally dropped and broke one on the way outside and got Sharpie on most of them from tracing–sorry little bro, I owe you some new bowls! So if you’re inspired to attempt this DIY yourself, stick to something you don’t mind maybe messing up a little. But know that Sharpie does wash off of ceramic bowls pretty easily.
Now, it just so happened these bowls fit almost exactly around the board. This was helpful in keeping them all lined up to the edge as I traced around each of them, going around the bowl about halfway, before jumping over to the next bowl to finish the curve, creating the “squiggle” you see here. We wanted to lean into the more wild wiggle shape, but you could also trace only part way up/down the bowls to give it a more scalloped look OR just freehand whatever shape you’d like! We just wanted to make sure the shape felt fluid and that the squiggle didn’t cut off weird.
Mission accomplished. Once we had the outline, it was time to cut it out. At first, we tried using X-acto knives, which might’ve worked better on a thinner board, but it was SUCH a hassle to get it to go through. Instead, I grabbed a steak knife which worked hilariously well, almost like a little saw (which would probably work just as well or better for this, tbh). It came out a little rough around the edges, but not too bad! It went fast and that’s what I cared about at this stage.
I hit the sides with sandpaper to smooth them out a bit before gluing. You may be wondering why I decided to cut the board now when the cork is nowhere in sight. Well, since the cork roll was so thin and fragile, it seemed like gluing the two together first might make the cut even rougher, with the potential for tears along the cork if spots weren’t as glued down. By cutting the board, then gluing the cork roll, then cutting again, we’d have a rough-but-thick, pre-shaped edge to gingerly cut along. And thin enough to use scissors on, too, which was way easier!
So that’s what we did. After I cut the shape, I spray-glued the back of the board and rolled out the cork flat on top. I smoothed it out to make sure it was really stuck down. The spray glue worked pretty well, but as I suspected, it didn’t stick to the edges super well. We went back around adding a little bit of tacky glue to make sure it would really stay down.
Once the cork was adhered to the board, we flipped the whole thing over so our outline would be easy to see. At this stage, both Gretch and I experimented with X-acto knives and scissors to cut out the shape a second time. Both worked pretty well, but because we did this outside on the grass for most of the cutting, the surface below made it harder to slide the blade in a clean way. That’s why I say go with scissors, but if you’re working on a table or have a cutting mat large enough, I think a blade will get you tighter, cleaner lines.
We went back over the board with said blade, this time right side up, to touch up any glaringly obvious defects. Thankfully, I need not worry too much about clean lines here, because it was the plan all along to add trim to this corkboard. With such a simple DIY like this, adding the trim is really what takes it from any old craft to something you’d actually be happy to hang on your wall.
I had bought quite a few options for trim because I couldn’t make up my mind. On my first run to the store, I snagged some white rope and a paracord-like material because that was literally all they had. Gretch and I contemplated using it but it just wasn’t right. So I hit a different store and thankfully (depending on who you ask) found wayyy too many good trim options to bring back. It came down to one of these two velvets. This was us bringing the unfinished corkboard to the room and draping all the trims on it to decide. It was a close call, but we landed on blue.
At one point we contemplated using flexi-moulding, but after an in-store review, it just wasn’t a fit. Fabric trim was way friendlier to use and more tween room appropriate anyway. This trim in particular worked perfectly because it’s essentially readymade piping. Meaning it had a bull nose shape with seam allowance that together happened to be the exact width of the new board. The easiest path forward was to just hot glue it on, piping side up (obviously). I used my handy-dandy wireless glue gun and made quick work of it!
We made sure to start where we wanted it to end–somewhere inconspicuous, so we could tuck the end piece out of sight. I will say, if you’re working fast like we did, you’ll likely run into some glue-ups. The hot glue got a little messy and would fudge up on the velvet. So if you tackle this project yourself, set aside enough time to go nice and slow. But just like that, we had a squiggly corkboard! It’s not perfect, but it was made with love and it’s a project I would definitely try again.
We used a simple picture-hanging kit to attach a wire on the backside for easy hanging. A few nails in the wall later and here it is on her wall, looking so good! But a little too empty…
It’s so much more fun with her personal touches–polaroids of friends and family, little crafts she’s made over the years, butterfly doodads, and some Teen Beat cut-outs because…duh! The best part is this DIY is totally kid-friendly with a little supervision. We surprised my niece with this room, but I think this would be a really fast and fun project to do with your kids/tweens to involve them in a makeover. I sure felt accomplished once we saw it on the wall! And it only took about a day and ~$100 to get it done. I’d call that a win.
The corkboard looks so cute in her whimsical room and my niece loves having the freedom to stick whatever ephemera she wants up there! This is a room meant to grow with her, so going DIY on a piece like this, just made the most sense. It’s not meant to be too precious, just creative and fun. A big thanks to Gretch who worked on this project with me, Kaitlin for her pretty photos (go check out the room reveal if you haven’t already), and my niece for trusting me with her space! 🙂
*After Photos by Kaitlin Green
