DIY a Nailhead Trim Burlap Bulletin Board

Need a great idea to display your Christmas Cards year-round? This nailhead trim burlap bulletin board would be just perfect.

I have a very clever and creative friend named Jane. One foot inside Jane’s home, and you’re awed by all the impressive decor of her home, all done by Jane. Heck, she Venetian Plastered her foyer…ALL.BY.HERSELF!!  We met while volunteering at the middle school library but quickly realized we were creative kindred spirits.

The first time I went to Jane’s home, I spied a bulletin board that she kept in her laundry room which was populated by all the photo Christmas cards that they had sent out featuring their family or children. It was a great annual snapshot of how much her beautiful children had grown yearly.

2016

2022

Not being bashful of adopting/borrowing/stealing another’s great idea, I promptly came home, rummaged through my photos and keepsake boxes, and collected the Christmas cards or Christmas card photos since when my oldest was a wee one.

My next challenge was to find an appropriate collection space for these annual snapshots. Ever since refinishing the storage cube for my daughter’s dorm room, I’ve been looking for another project to use nailhead trim on. Creative Kismet! I love it when two ideas collide to make one fantastic project.

What you’ll need to make Nailhead Burlap Bulletin Board:

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• Bulletin board in your desired size.  I had a 24″ X 36″ bulletin board already, so I opted to reuse it.  
• Burlap to cover your board.  My burlap was 45″ wide, so I only need 2 1/2 feet of burlap.  The burlap cost me all of $3.00!
• Decorative Nails. Buy more than you think you need.  These nails bent rather easily (maybe it was an operator error), but I went through 72 (3 packages) to ultimately put 46 on my board.  I got the brass, but in retrospect think the antique brass finish would’ve looked really cool too.
• Hammer or rubber mallet.  I used a hammer that we had put moleskin on to prevent it from scratching the nails.
• Staple gun with 1/4″ staples
• Small pliers to hold nails while you hammer.

Here’s how I made the Nailhead Burlap Bulletin Board:

• First things first…WHAT NOT TO DO…Don’t glue your burlap to your board first.  I made this seemingly clever move only to find out that the glue discolored the burlap.  Back to the fabric store… a good thing burlap is cheap!
• The wooden frame around my bulletin board had previously been painted red, so I gave it a coat with a neutral beige that I already had at home.  The burlap is a loose weave, so I didn’t want the red to show through.

• I cut my burlap to cover the wood frame with about 1″ extra.
  
• Staple on the back, up against the wood frame, keeping the burlap taut as you go.
• Corners are always tricky.  I wish I could tell you exact step-by-step instructions, but it is a function of minimizing the fabric that will be in the fold by cutting away as much as possible but not too much that you see frayed edges on the corner.  Then I always resort to my training as a present wrapper at Sears during college…make your corners as sharp as possible and your folds as crisp as possible.  Here’s how I do it.

• Ready to put the nailhead on

  

• This was a bit of a challenge.  It seems that a 24″X36″ bulletin board is not exactly 24″x36″, but more like 23 1/8″ by 35 1/4″, which made finding equal increments with my US Standard Measuring stick a headache-inducing trial.  So…I resorted to using my metric ruler, which worked like a charm.  I measured every 6 cm, after putting my corner nails 1 cm in from each side.  I had to fudge a few, say every 5 3/4 cm or so on some, but you’ll never be able to tell unless you get up there and measure with a ruler.  I alternated from side to side, measuring between nails frequently to make sure that I didn’t end up doing one whole side and then realizing that my measurements were off.  

  

• This is where you need small pliers.  I think mine are actually jewelry pliers as they have a very small nose, which was perfect for this job.

• TA DA!  Now it’s ready for your Christmas card collection or just as a spiffy bulletin board.

What I used to display my Christmas Cards on the Nailhead Burlap Bulletin Board:

• Applique/Sequin Pins
• I made little tags to identify the year of each picture.  I had some metallic gold cardstock on which I printed the years.  

  

• I used a 1″ paper punch to make the circle year tags. I did print up and punched out the years up to 2019 so that I could easily add the new cards to my board in the same font and with the same paper.  I put the future years in an envelope that I’ve taped to the back of the bulletin board.  

  

I love my finished Christmas Card/Nailhead Trim Burlap Bulletin Board, especially since that cute little girl in the first couple of pictures is just starting her second week away from home at college. 

It’s a great addition to my office, which is about to get a mini-face lift anyway.  If you want to refer back to this Nailhead Trim Burlap Bulletin Board project in the future, bookmark this page or pin the following image.

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!