Do you need a bit of decorating inspo for your study space or bedroom?

No problem - this fun DIY by Sophie from the Instagram account DIY Blonde for colourful alphabet cork pin boards is the perfect way to liven up your room. Plus, you can keep all your important bits and bobs pinned in one place, helping you stay on track with your studies and day-to-day tasks.

If you want to add some sparkle to your boards, we've listed some additional steps to include fairy lights too. You can skip those if you just want to make a plain cork board.

So what could you spell? We've gone for the word 'etc.' as it reminded us of the million different things we have to juggle and need reminders for every day (studying, keeping in touch with friends, helping at home, being awesome, having fun… etc.). But you can use this tutorial for any letter(s) you wish, whether that's your initial, a word that means a lot to you, or your favourite internet acronym.

You will need:

• Card sheets or paper
• Cork sheets (roughly 7mm thick) or cardboard
• Cardboard
• A ruler
• A marker pen
• A pen or a pencil
• Some paint in your favourite colours. Tip: check your garage to see if you have any old wall paint to use up. If you decide to use the fairy lights, go for a water-based paint.
• A paintbrush
• Scissors or a craft knife
• Some battery-powered fairy lights. LED battery powered fairy lights are recommended - we do not advise using mains powered lighting for this make. Tip: check your Christmas decoration box, you might have some already. Do not use the lights if they are damaged or the wiring is uncovered.
• A glue gun or some craft glue
• Tape

Directions:

Before you start: if you're using a craft knife, when you cut the card and cork sheets, make sure they are held firmly, keep your body away from the craft knife and do not cut towards the body or hands. Always take your time and ask for assistance if you need it. Keep the craft knife blade retracted when it's not in use, and avoid distraction.

1. Make a template for the letters using the card sheets. Draw the shape of the letter on the card and cut it out.

2. On the template, mark out evenly spaced dots. These dots will be where the lights will be, if you decide to use them. Skip this step if you're going for the plain cork board without fairy lights.

3. Lay the card letter template on a cork sheet and draw round it with a marker pen.

4. Carefully cut the cork letter out using scissors or a craft knife.

5. If you want to use fairy lights: lay the template back over the cork letter and, using the craft knife or scissors, carefully push into the dots on the template to make a hole in the cork.

6. Using a pencil, pierce the holes in the cork and twist to create a rounder shape. Be careful not to split the cork.

7. Paint the cork letter in a colour of your choice. Make a cup of tea and leave to dry!

8. On a large piece of cardboard, draw and cut 4.5cm-wide strips. Don't worry if you don't have a large piece of cardboard; you can use smaller strips and glue them together to make the edging.

9. Paint each strip with white paint. Leave to dry - more tea!

10. Now glue the strips onto the cork letter. Aim to have 2cm worth of edging in the front and 2.5cm in the back - this is to hide the battery pack, if you've used battery-powered lights.

11. Give the letter one more coat of paint. Leave to dry.

12. If you've used the fairy lights, carefully push each LED light bulb through the holes of the letter. When pushing pins through the cork board, be careful not to pierce the wiring of the fairy lights.

Repeat the entire process to create all the letters for your chosen word or slogan. Once you have finished, lean your letters against a wall or stand them on a desk. Now you can pin all your important things on your cork letters, so you will (almost) never forget anything again.

Happy pinning!