So you've decided it's time to display your pins properly?
We all have some pins we don’t wear and like to display on various boards at home. But let’s be honest, cork boards are most of the time really not a treat to look at and the painted ones are just full of holes way too quickly.
After exploring a few ways to display my pins I have consistently stuck with one that works great and is really easy to do which I'll be sharing in this article.
What you'll need to start
1) Some cork board
The one I use is 50cm x 50cm and 10mm thick) and you can find it HERE (if you're in France). If you're in America here is something similar I believe you can use, find it HERE.
2) A frame
You can use whatever frame you like as long as there is some depth in the back when you turn it over, that is where you will be placing your cork board so you need to make sure there is space for that. I personally have found the RIBBA frames from IKEA work great and those are what I have been using on a regular basis when making new boards. (They also come in black).
3) A cutter + scissors
You already have that at home but I always love recommending stuff so here is a link to my favorite cutter.
4) masking tape
I used some tape I bought a few years back in NYC. The brand is PRO tapes but I couldn't find this exact one, this one HERE is similar, but I believe any masking tape that is sticky enough will do. You want something that will hold but that is easily removable as well. If you are in france, use the term "Ruban de masquage" on Amazon or you can find it at any store, just make sure its sticky enough!
5) The fabric of your choice.
This is really up to you and what you can find. For this tutorial I used black fabric, it was a little thicker than I would have liked but was still manageable. You will ideally want a fabric that is neither too thick or too thin, that doesn't easily show holes after you poke a pin in it and that you love! Keep in mind you can change it anytime though as I am not glueing anything permanently (you can if you want though).
Got everything? Let's start!
First, disassemble your frame. Use the back and position it on top of your cork board as a reference to cut it to size.
- Now you'll want to trim your fabric down so it'll fit your cork board and leave enough extra to fold the fabric on the back of the cork later on, about 2 inches on each side should be enough.
Next, this is where the masking tape comes in! Fold each side of the fabric to the cork board and tape it, make sure it's secure.
Now all that's left to do is insert your fabric covered cork board in your frame, just push it in all the way and make sure there's no space between the front of the frame and your board.
Once you've got this, you will place the back of your frame to hide this messy looking thing.
Keep in mind I am doing it this way because its fast, convenient and doesn't require anything other than tape. You can of course spend a little more time to make this clean and permanent as well. I couldn't do it to show you as the fabric I used on this was too thick but here is a photo of what the back of my other frames look like so you can get the idea.
Now that you have everything secured, time to place your pins!!
I personally like to place them on my board before I pin them, and then I'll rearrange accordingly as I go.
For this one I decided to place only my black, white and gold pins. Make sure to place your hand on the other side of your board as you pin your pins to make sure you don't tear the masking tape and push your board back out of your frame.
You are done!!
And now that you have the basics, the possibilities are endless! You can paint your frame, use a ton of different fabrics, different colors and different sized frames! Let your creativity roar!
