When my sister tagged me in a Facebook post featuring a Kraft paper roll message board, she didn’t realise she was sparking my next DIY project. Within minutes, friends began commenting, assuming I had made it, and asking how much I charged! That got me thinking, “How hard could it be to make one myself?” It turns out it was surprisingly easy!

This paper roll message board is a versatile and functional piece you can hang in your kitchen, kids’ playroom, home office, or even the garden shed. Use it as a memo board, shopping list, kids’ drawing board or teaching aid—it works for just about anything.

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DIY Wall-Mounted Kraft Paper Roll Message Board for Kids, Home or Classroom

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Materials Needed

• 12mm plywood board (1200mm x 600mm for base)
• Two plywood strips (600mm x 50mm)
• Plywood for pen holder (600mm x 60mm)
• Kraft paper roll (450mm wide x 50m)
• Curtain rod and brackets
• Wood glue and epoxy glue
• Router with round-over and grooving bits
• Stain or paint of choice (I used dark mahogany)
• Satin polyurethane (for sealing)
• Screws, pilot drill bit, large head nails
• Flush wall mounts
• Aluminium foil cutting strip (blade)
• Orbital sander and 180 grit sandpaper
• Jigsaw

Step 1: Build the Message Board Base

Start by sourcing your Kraft paper roll. I recommend buying one first to ensure it’s a size you can easily find replacements for. I could only find a 450mm x 50m roll in my town.

Cut a piece of 12mm plywood to 1200mm x 600mm for your base. Then cut two strips of plywood 600mm long x 50mm wide. These will be your front slats that hold the paper flat to the board. Sand the wood surface smooth with an orbital sander using 180-grit paper. This helps ensure your writing appears clearly on the paper. Use a router with a round-over bit to smooth the sharp edges for a clean finish.

Stain or paint your wood. I used dark mahogany stain and sealed it with two coats of satin polyurethane.

Step 2: Add a Marker Pen Holder

The next step was to create a holder for the marker pens. It’s practical to have them easily accessible whenever you want to jot something down. I used a 600mm x 60mm piece of plywood for the holder.

Before cutting the wood to size, use a router with a grooving bit to add slots for the pens—this is much easier to do while the board is still full-sized. I made the mistake of cutting the wood first, which made routing the grooves quite awkward, so mine ended up a little uneven.

Step 4: Install the Paper Roll

Use a curtain rod and brackets to hold your paper roll. Drill the brackets onto the baseboard, ensuring they’re level before adding the rod. The rod just rests in the brackets.

To make the ends of the rod more attractive, I added small wooden knobs using epoxy glue and bolts to ensure they fit snugly. Once cured, I spray-painted the entire rod black to match the brackets.

Step 5: Add a Paper Cutting Strip

For the cutting blade, I initially tried attaching metal directly to the front, but it was bulky and awkward. My husband had a better idea—repurpose the cutting strip from a foil dispenser. Genius!

Secure the strip along the bottom edge using strong adhesive or large head nails (though I’m still looking for a cleaner mounting method—drop your suggestions in the comments!).

This was how I attached the blade, not the prettiest, but it worked.

Attaching the paper supports and pen holder

Drill pilot holes in the message board base where you want to attach the pen holder. Line up the holder and use the existing holes as a guide to drill through the back of the holder itself. Apply some wood glue, then screw the two pieces together. To prevent the front wood strip from splitting, pre-drill those holes as well.

Before securing the two wooden strips that hold the paper in place, insert a washer on each side between the base and the front support. This creates a small gap, allowing the Kraft paper to feed through smoothly without catching or tearing. I added screwcaps to hide the screws.

Step 6: Mount to the Wall

Use flush mounts to hang the message board securely on the wall. These provide a clean, close fit and are easy to install.

Now your Kraft paper roll message board is ready to use! Whether it’s for family reminders, kids’ drawings, classroom fun or meal planning, you’ll find a use for it every day.

More notice board project ideas

This notice board was made from a recycled bed headboard—I repurposed the panels into functional chalkboards.

This functional kitchen board was created from a panel I salvaged while upcycling an old piano into a bar.

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