I really liked the quilt idea. I'm a former elementary teacher, now an elementary teacher educator. For most teachers, bulletin boards are often just one more time-consuming thing to do. For elementary and high school students, however, they can be an opportunity to work cooperatively with others or demonstrate their creativity. One idea would be to have a sign-up sheet for the year and let kids sign up to work alone or with others on a particular board.
Students catch on quickly here, and start adding what they run across, too.
I have enjoyed reading all the bulletin board ideas. It can be anything that is unique about them. I use purple because that is our school color. This helps everyone to get to know something personal about you and students love to put their thumb print on the paper. Students later use the brainstormed list to create a first draft or easy about their accomplishments.