Memo Board Thrift Store Upcycle

50 Comments /

You’re going to enjoy seeing the before and after of my memo board thrift store upcycle. Follow along to see the wonderful transformation that cost me less than $5.00 to make!

I also include how you can make your own decorative memo board without using a thrifted item.

MEMO BOARD THRIFT STORE UPCYCLE

thrift store upcycle showing two memo boards

I found these kitchen cork trivets for only 50 cent each while thrift shopping at Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

As you can see, they were stained and dirty looking. Can you imagine how much food was spilled on these trivets throughout the years. YUCK!

I saw past the yuckiness and envisioned these trivets as message boards, and thought they would also be an easy thrift store repurpose project.

kitchen trivet before upcycled to memo board

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

  • cork trivet (thrift store)
  • spray paint
  • black craft paint
  • metallic craft paint
  • mod podge
  • wall stickers (dollar tree)
  • foam brush
  • artist paintbrush
  • stretch headband (dollar tree)
  • sandpaper
  • staple gun
  • hammer
  • dotter (I used ball tip of sewing pin)
supplies needed for memo board thrift store upcycle project

HOW TO MAKE MEMO BOARDS

STEP 1 – CLEAN, SAND, AND PAINT THE TRIVETS

Wipe the trivets down using liquid Lysol all-purpose cleaner. Once they are completely dry, sand the wood portion of the trivets.

After sanding, wipe off the sanding dust using a paper towel or rag. I like using Swiffer pads as wipes for projects that have been sanded.

Spray paint the entire trivet. I used Krylon ColorMaxx in Satin Brown Boots. This a a quick drying formula so it doesn’t take long for multiple coats to dry.

spray painted thrift store trivets

Use an artist paintbrush to paint the wood portion with black craft paint. It only took one coat for complete coverage.

step 2 showing edges painted black on thrift store trivets

STEP 2 – ATTACH THE BUTTERFLY STICKERS

Since I was using 2 trivets and I planned to hang them together, I chose to use 3 butterflies for the ‘odd number’ rule. Plus, I wanted to make sure I still had enough space to pin notes and still see my pretty butterflies.

Use the foam brush to spread the mod podge on the back of your wall stickers.

After the sticker feels dry, use the foam brush to mod podge the top of your sticker. The white mod podge will be clear once it is dry.

I did not mod podge the entire front side of the trivet, just the stickers.

step 3 showing butterflies added to thrift store trivets

STEP 3 – ADD TINY DOTS

Add tiny dots to the wood edge of the trivet. I used the ball tip end of a sewing pin for making my dots.

This step looks time consuming, but it took me less than 30 minutes to dot my two trivets.

step 4 showing polka dots added to memo board

STEP 3 – ADD A HANGER

I wanted a little something different looking for my hangers. Since I only have quick access to a Walmart and a Dollar Tree, I wasn’t exactly rolling in a bunch of options.

I found some shimmery headbands in Dollar Tree that matched the gold outline on my butterfly sticker and my metallic paint. So that’s what I chose as my hanger.

Attach the hanger onto the back of the trivet. Since I used stretchy headbands, I used a staple gun to attach them.

OPTIONAL HANGERS: twine, ribbon, or picture hanging hardware.

completed memo board thrift store upcycle
completed memo board thrift store upcycle

Your memo board is now completed! You can also use the board to display a photograph.

memo board with note attached

HOW TO MAKE A MEMO BOARD WITHOUT A THRIFTED ITEM

If you don’t see any cork trivets while thrifting, you can still make memo boards similar to mine. Just head to your local Dollar Tree where I saw plain pieces of flat cork and pieces of wood in their crafting section.

You can glue the cork onto the wood, grab a sheet of their wall stickers, and voila, you have your own decorative memo board!

pinterest graphic for memo board thrift store upcycle

MORE THRIFT STORE DECOR YOU MAY LIKE:

completed thrifted glass vase with flowers

How to Paint a Thrifted Glass Flower Vase

spring decorating on mantel using thrift store finds

Spring Mantel Decor Using Thrift Store Finds

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK FOR BUDGET CRAFT AND HOME INSPIRATION!

This month I joined up with a group of talented bloggers where our challenge was to create a new piece of decor from a thrift store find. At the end of my project, you’ll find their thrift store upcycle updates so be sure check those out as well!

NOW FOR MORE THRIFT STORE UPCYCLE IDEAS!

graphic for thrift store blog challenge

MEET THE HOSTS:

Angela | Simply Beautiful By Angela – Gail | Purple Hues and Me – Jenny | Cookies Coffee and Crafts – Marci | Stone Cottage Adventures – Allyson | Southern Sunflowers – Beverly | Across the Blvd – Emily | Domestic Deadline – Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter


Sharing this thrift store upcycle at these FABULOUS BLOGS!

author of the southern sunflowers blog
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allyson

Allyson is the founder and content creator of Southern Sunflowers, which shares tutorials for DIY crafts and decor on a budget.

50 thoughts on “Memo Board Thrift Store Upcycle”

    1. Allyson

      I got really desperate on finding something for the hanger because I only had the Dollar Tree or Wally World to shop. I had to think outside the box, for sure!

      Reply
  2. Emily

    What a great project. I will have to keep my eyes open when the thrift store opens up, my daughter is looking for cute cork boards to use in her dorm room this fall, so she can change pictures whenever he wants. Pinned

    Reply
    1. Allyson

      Thank you, Kippi! So glad you like my upcycle. I surprised myself that I came up with a decent idea to transform them! Thanks for visiting!

      Reply
  4. Melynda Brown

    Love this idea, with crafting supplies being so expensive, this is great! This will be one of my featured posts this upcoming week on Encouraging Hearts and Home, stop by and say hi, and thanks again for linking up! Pinned.

    Reply
  9. Marilyn Lesniak

    ********************************************************
    Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
    ********************************************************

    Reply
  10. Jenna

    Wow, what a transformation!! I would have never had the vision for that! I do love the dot trim, I paint dots by dipping the handle end of a paint brush into paint and it works great! You can also use the eraser end of a pencil. Happy crafting!

    Reply
    1. Allyson

      I surprised myself at seeing memo boards in them Lol! A brush and pencil ends are what I normally use for dotting, but for these I used the ball head of a sewing pin.

      Reply
  14. Donna @ Modern on Monticello

    You did a great job on this project. I am not sure I would have even considered upcycling these mats. That is what makes upcycling so fun! Thanks for sharing this week at #HomeMattersParty. I would love to join the challenge next month.

    Reply
    1. Allyson

      Thanks for the compliments, Carrie! Some thrift items are hard to imagine how to change them, but this one was definitely an easier one and it didn’t take long at all to transform.

      Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *