Never Board of Burlap

For those of us who troll the web as well as the Brownstone aisles looking for new and different ideas for the home, the growing presence of burlap is inescapable. From table runners to wreaths, the rustic material is everywhere, and I for one couldn't be happier. As far as I'm concerned, textures add to the personality of a space every bit as much as color and light. But what's form without a little function? That's why I chose to cover my office bulletin boards with some old coffee bags I found at a nearby flea market. It was remarkably easy but proved to make a great impact on the look of a few otherwise boring office accessories. My favorite type of craft!

• First of all you're going to need to measure how much burlap is needed to cover the bulletin board you wish to use. Boards come in all different sizes and with or without frames. Anything will do for this project, just make sure your burlap is at least 3 inches larger on all sides of the board, so as to fold around the edge of frame. I used an old coffee bag with a design so I needed a board large enough to keep the image intact.
• Next, you will cut your burlap. This can be tricky as the fabric has a tendency to stretch and move. Your best bet is to find one string or thread of the burlap and start to pull it out. Don't pull so hard that you break the string, but apply a bit of force. The rest of the fabric will start to buckle and gather, until your remove the entire string and are left with a channel that you can cut straight through to make an even cut.
• Now place the burlap face down on a flat surface. Center your bulletin board face down on the burlap. Pull the burlap over the edge of the board and begin stapling along the top.
• Pull the burlap at the bottom as tight as you can and staple it to the back of the board as you did the top. The burlap will still appear a little loose. Continue with the sides of the board.
• As you staple the vertical sides of the board make sure you are continually pulling the burlap as tight as you can around the boards so as not to leave any wrinkles or waves.

This is where I stopped. I wanted the imagery of the old coffee bag to be the focus. However, if you are using plain burlap from the craft store, you may wish to stencil your burlap with a quote or image. Or perhaps cross some twine to better hold the photos and papers. As with all crafts you need to play with it and make it your own.

Keep Creative and Have Fun!

Jennifer