Fake Pottery Barn Cork-board Organizers

You all know that I love (to knock-off) Pottery Barn!  I've been on the hunt for cheapo cork-boards ever since I saw their Organizing System.

Pottery Barn's Linen Pinboard

At the end of last summer, I came across these great finds for only $0.75 each!

It has taken me until now to finally get myself in gear and turn them into great fakes!  A little spray paint, some drop cloth fabric from the Home Depot, some edge beading and here is what I've got now!

Here's how I did it:

First, spray-painted the frames with almond enamel.  Then, I cut out approximate-sized pieces of Drop Cloth Canvas Fabric (you can get a HUGE piece of canvas fabric from Home Depot or Lowes for around $10.00) to fit the cork boards and stretched it out using thumbtacks.

Leaving the pins in, I hot-glued all around the edge of the board next to the frames.

I pressed down firmly to make sure the glue adhered well.

Next, I simply cut away the excess fabric.

Then, I hot-glued some decorative beaded edging over the rough edge of the canvas (and burnt my finger really bad - OUCH!).  I'd picked up a whole ream of this edging from a yard sale last year for only $5.00!  At the time, I had no idea what I'd do with it, but it was too good of deal to pass up!

I had some leftover ribbon from a previous project, so for one of my boards I added it prior to adding the decorative edging.  To make sure the ribbon stays in place, I added a few thumbtacks as insurance.

 The other two boards, I left plain.

Are these boards exactly like Pottery Barn's?  Well...not exactly.  But they absolutely perform the same function and have a ton more style than they did previously!


The Fake-It Yourself Breakdown:

Fake Pottery Barn Cork Board ($2.25 for 3 Boards, $0.00 Leftover Canvas Fabric from my coffee table project, $4.50 Spray Paint, $5.00 Beaded Edging, $0.00 Ribbon on hand).

Total Fake-It Cost:  $11.75 for 3 Boards

Compare to Pottery Barn's Linen Pinboards ($44.00 each)

Total Fake-It Savings:  $120.25

Linking Up at Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, The Frugal Girls, Funky Junk Interiors and these other Great Parties!