Bulletin Board

I've had ideas of some sort of family bulletin board/message center in my head for a while now, and have been inspired by many different images and blog posts, but when I was talking with my friend, Becca, and she brought it up that she was trying to put one together, I got motivated to just get it done!  A few of the inspirations I used: I originally got the idea for a "Learning Board" from a book I read, and really enjoyed, on motherhood called Steady Days and I used her ideas for what to put on the board. There is a calendar on it with pictures, a sticker chart, a few pictures of Spring, a country that we talk about (so far we're checking a few books out from the library on our "country" and looking at it on the map. Maybe in the future I'll get around to cooking foods from a certain country we talk about. We'll see.) and a holiday (I still need to get some pictures of Easter things up!). It's hung low on the wall in our hallway so it's accessible to Kate. I plan to rotate what we put on the board, and it could eventually just become a family message center or display board. For now it is working well. Kate enjoys looking at the calendar especially. Most mornings she asks "What day is it today?" And it's been helpful to direct her here and show her what might be going on that day or the next.

I followed my favorite design blogs instructions for the bulletin board and it was really simple. I got the board at Micheals, although they sell them everywhere. Just paint the frame, use some fabric tac or spray adhesive for the fabric and cover the edges with gimp or trim. I want to do a few more of these for the walls of our office. I love seeing the pretty fabric on the wall--especially since I found it for $3 a yard. If you live near a Home Fabrics outlet, you've got to check it out!

A few other inspirations:

Soulemama's family board

Family Command Center