Magnetic Boards

I fell in love with these fabric-covered magnetic boards at Ballard.  I can't afford most of what's in that catalog, but love to use it as inspiration.  They are a tasteful take on the old bulletin board.

I thought something like this could be a cute Christmas idea, especially if I included some handmade magnets.  So I did a search for some tips on how to do one.  This gal made a very cute one at A Little of This, A Little of That .  She used a great frame, but I thought if I was making a smaller board, I wouldn't want a frame to get in the way of notes/photos I could put up.  This wouldn't maximize the space, I guess.  So then I found a tutorial on http://www.ehow.com/.  I liked this article a lot and after using many of those ideas, including foam core, spray adhesive, and duct tape, I ended up with this final result.

I did not find the type of metal flashing talked about in the article, though.  I bought a roll of it and realized after I got it home that it wasn't magnetic!  I kept it and used it all (8 ft of it, I think) for jewelry displays.  I'll have to put that up some time.  Anyway, I ended up using the pre-cut 26 gauge sheet metal I found at Lowe's.  It comes in every size imaginable and the sizes I like are the 12 x 18 and the 12 x 24.  It is not as cheap as the roll-type, but it's still very economical at about $4.50 for the 12 x 18.

To make the magnets, I used the flat glass marbles (the kind you can buy literally anywhere-even dollar stores-to fill vases or bowls) with the middle design.  I used super glue (hot glue will NOT work) to attach the marbles to heavy duty magnets.  The other marbles I used were custom made originally for some jewelry designs.  I changed my mind on them and they were perfect for this. 

Check out the etsy site where I got them:

daisymaedesigns

Warning: these magnets are so strong that they will separate the magnets from the marbles to attach to each other.  Keep them away from each other!  I used duct tape to secure the fabric around the back of the board, trying to keep it as neat as possible.  I felt that I never really came up with an ideal way to hang these.  The saw-tooth type picture hanger hammered into the foam core and glued in place seemed to work the best.  For the one I'm about to do for a boy's room, I think I'll try a command strip.  The ribbon I used to make it a little more decorative is just tied into a bow and hot glued to the center top.