Forgive me. I like the lighting on my balcony, and I wanted you to see my petunias!

Things I learned: It’s better to be patient and get thicker cork board instead of settling with what’s available on your first trip to the craft store. And Elmer’s Stix All Gel Cement doesn’t come out of the tube quite as easily as it should. Finally, be very careful when cutting cork as it can be delicate.

Keep reading after the jump for a list of items used and directions. Plus, why did I make this anyway?

Why I made this junk creation:
I work (at home) late at night and I sometimes leave post-it note messages for Michael on the kitchen cabinet because I know he’ll look there, next to the coffee pot. I’m almost out of the giant pack of post-it notes I bought years ago. And since they aren’t exactly eco-friendly, I decided to use scrap paper and upcycle an old wooden cutting board for use as a message center. The board had seen better days, and I just got a new one as a gift anyway.

Things I used:
•Old wooden cutting board
•Hobby cork roll
•Drill
•Pencil & ruler
•Exacto knife or razor blade
•Glue (I used non-flammable Elmer’s Stix All Gel Cement.)

How I made:
With a ruler and pencil, I drew off the area I wanted covered with the cork.

I cut the cork to size and applied the gel cement to the board, making sure to cover all corners. Then I laid the cut cork onto the drawn-off area with glue. I chose non-flammable glue since I was going to use this board in the kitchen, but that’s me being extra safe. The glue I used does seem to work well with cork.

Since I was impatient and got the first cork roll I came by, I had to double my layers to make it thick enough to hold thumb tacks. I’m sure it’s possible to find thicker cork board, but I didn’t see it at my store.

I covered the board with magazine pages to protect the books I’m about to mention. Then I laid several heavy books on top and let cure for 24 hours.

After that, I drilled a hole in the handle for hanging and located my tacks. I had some fishy thumb tacks that were just dying to be used.

I wanted a simple message center, but you may wish to paint or otherwise adorn your cutting board before applying cork.

Would you consider this project with an old cutting board you were going to get rid of anyway?

Post from: Blisstree

My Junk Creation: Kitchen Message Center from Cutting Board