How to Create Your Own DIY Bulletin Board Letters 

This image is of a bulletin board with the heading "Reading" in big letters at the top. The text at the bottom reads "How to create your own DIY bulletin board letters".

Often, the hardest part of creating a bulletin board is coming up with the bulletin board letters for the heading. 

Do you handwrite them? Print them out? Avoid it altogether? 

And once you pick your method, you are still left with a million questions of “But how?”. 

Follow this simple how-to guide to create your own printable, DIY bulletin board letters. And yes, I’ll share my tips and tricks with the letter size. 😉

Step #1: Prepare Your PowerPoint or Google Slide

The very first thing you will need to do is open a blank PowerPoint or Google Slide project. 

Once you have a blank document to work with, you will want to resize the page. 

The default slideshow dimensions are not quite the size of a normal piece of paper.  

This image shows a blank PowerPoint file with the File tab selected and "Page Setup" highlighted.

This will often be found under the File tab. Look for something like “Page Setup”. 

This image shows a blank PowerPoint file with the "Page Setup" settings displayed. The size has been changed to "Custom" and measures 11in by 8.5in.

Under the size options, choose “Custom” and adjust the width and height to 11 inches by 8.5 inches. 

Now you are ready to start creating your bulletin board letters!! 

Step #2: Add Text 

Next, add a textbox to your blank slide. It doesn’t matter where you put it, this is really just to get a feel for what you want your text to LOOK like. 

Type the word you want as your bulletin board heading. 

Then, change the font to a chunky or block font you LOVE. 

KG Fonts has a TON of free font options over on TPT! You can browse through them here. 

I LOVE using the “APLIlikebigfonts” font in all caps for my bulletin board letters. 

This image shows a font called "APLI Like Big Fonts" that is great to use for bulletin board letters.

Step #3: Add a Black Outline to the Letters

After you have chosen your font, you will need to do some formatting to get the letters ready to be on a bulletin board. 

I like to add a black outline and print on colored paper or add the exact colors of the letters to match my classroom theme.

Here is how to do so 🙂⬇️

This image shows a PowerPoint file with the word "READ" typed out. The word has been selected and "Format Shape" has been chosen from the list of options.

To add a black outline: select your text box, right-click, and choose “Format Shape” from the options that appear. 

Then choose “Text Options” > “No Fill” > “Solid Line” and it will likely make the line color blue by default, but then you can change it to black. 

This image shows a PowerPoint file with the word "READ" typed out. The "Format Shape" menu is pulled up with settings to create your own bulletin board letters.

I also then increase the “width” so the outline is thicker and easier to see when cutting out the letters.

Next, increase the font size until there are about 2 to 3 letters on a page. This is where you will play with the font size based on how large you want your bulletin board header to be. 

I’ve found that 2-3 letters on a page works great for most bulletin board letters! 

From here you can print the letters on colored paper, or choose a fill color of your choice! 

This image shows a close-up of a PowerPoint file with the letters "RE" typed out and colored with two different shades of teal.

Step #4: Print & Prepare  

By now, your file should look something like this if you zoom out and see all your slides next to each other. 

This image shows several pages of a PowerPoint document that combines to spell "READING".

You have two or three letters per page and you have formatted the bulletin board letters to look a certain way once they are printed. 

Next, you need to actually print out your letters! (Make sure you print single-sided!) 

This image shows a printer printing out bulletin board letters.

Then, take time to cut out your letters. 

This image shows a bunch of letters that have been cut to go on a bulletin board.

Finally, hang them up on your bulletin board! 

This image shows a bulletin board with the heading, "READING" across the top.

✨ Viola! Your bulletin board is now complete. ✨

For reference, this bulletin board is about 4 feet by 3 feet (including the polka dot borders).

I think the 2 letters per page works great with a bulletin board this size. 

You use bulletin boards in your classroom ALL the time. To display student work, hang reference posters for students, and to build your classroom culture. 

Don’t let annoying bulletin board letters get in the way between you and a great-looking bulletin board display! 


And if setting up the bulletin board is dragging you down, here are some of my favorite bulletin board hacks to speed up the process!

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