How to Make an AWESOME #Hashtag bulletin board!

There are some great back to school signs out there for those #firstdayofschool moments with your children and/or students. I thought why can't we make these for our middle school students? I can't say I have a first day of my eighth grade year picture anywhere(nor do I think I even want to see one! Yikes!). This is a great way to use a bulletin board in the hallway or commons area for students to use as a backdrop for their pictures! Get one of each of your students and let them take some pictures with their friends! This will be up for Open House night so my students can even have their parents take their picture with them!

I printed these letters out on gorgeous Astrobrights paper. I like that it was already a theme of colors that are coordinated. I couldn't go wrong here. I alternated colors because I like the way it looks. You could do one solid color paper. We do not have color printers and I don't want to spend the money to get them made so this is a cheaper alternative!   

The next step is to cut out those letters! Take your time. Trust me. You don't want to cut too much off. I like to leave a small sliver of colored paper on the outside of the black lines.

Next is to laminate! *This is also optional! I sometimes don't have time to laminate so I simply staple the letters right up knowing I won't be able to use them again next year. If you want it to last-laminate the letters! 

Be sure to lay out your letters on your floor or a counter to be sure you have everything spelled out (correctly!) and it looks how you want.

I am using a navy fabric to back my bulletin board. This will prevent fading from the sun or students writing something on the butcher paper. Be sure to measure your bulletin board's length before you shop. Most bulletin boards are 4 feet tall. Fabric is usually 45 inches wide. You can see that the edges of the fabric at the top are jagged. This works because you will cover the gaps with your border. I did a double layer of border to add dimension. I simply hot glued the solid border to the silver edge of the bulletin board! *Forgive the bad lighting!

Staple your letters up high enough so if students are standing in front of the board it will still show in the picture.

Staple your letters onto the top portion of the board! Add a side decoration and that is it!

I chose to do lots of paper rosettes in the same paper I printed the letters on to match and have a large decoration off to the side. I have seen these online and in craft stores already made. I took the long route and made my own. Click here for the EASY tutorial on how I made my paper rosettes. 

That’s it! You are done! I’ve made a hashtag for each grade level as well as a few others. Click here for the Hashtag Bulletin Board Kit. 

I'd love to see your completed bulletin boards! Tag me on Instagram @activityaftermath