Magnetic Bulletin Board

Posted on | September 17, 2008 | 6 Comments

It’s done! Here are some of the things I used:

For the magnets, I used origami paper, glass pebbles with flat sides like you use in floral arrangements (I used ones at least 1″ wide), Mod Podge and varnish.

You put your bead over the paper and then trace, then cut out the shape you traced. Adhere it to the glass pebble with the Mod Podge. Be sure you use completely porous paper or it won’t work (I made the mistake of using some with an opalescent color that wasn’t porous and the Mod Podge is still not dry. When the Mod Podge is dry, trin the edges of the paper if you need to then apply varnish and dry. Use the E6000 to add a dab of glue and adhere the magnet to the back. This needs 24 hrs. to cure.

For the bulletin board, I purchased a sheet of steel and 3/8″ thick plywood (cheapie kind). They need to be the same size but not necessarily pretty: your fabric will cover them up. I also got picture hanging wire and D-rings for hanging pictures. You’ll need hooks and nails to hang the board on the wall and make sure that they’re hefty enough to hold it. Packages usually have a max weight that the hooks can hold.

Clean both the metal sheet and wipe the dust off the board. Apply a generous amount of the E6000 to the board and then place the metal sheet on it. Allow it to cure for 24 hours.

Afterwards, lay a tarp down then your clean, ironed fabric right side down on to the tarp. Spray the fabric with spray adhesive. Now you attach the fabric, adhesive side to the metal but loosely. Starting at the top, you want to gently smooth the fabric so that there are no wrinkles. When there are no more wrinkles, burnish it a little to help ensure the glue is working. Flip it over, fold the fabric over the sides. You may have to trim some fabric off the corners to get them to lay cleanly.

Attach the D-rings and picture wire to the back and hang. Voila! It will smell like spray adhesive for a while. YUCK. Here’s our finished board:

Some thoughts: you want to pick a thicker bottom-weight fabric for this and ensure it’s pretty opaque. If you can, get flashing and cut it down to size. I think it’s thinner and more lightweight but I have nothing to cut flashing with (bring a magnet when you shop for it to make sure it’s not aluminum). There’s probably a lighter weight board to use than plywood, but I didn’t come across it. The other thing I found was masonite and that’s heavier and harder to drill holes in for the screws.

I hope you like it!

Category: crafting
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Comments

6 Responses to “Magnetic Bulletin Board”

  1. kc
    September 18th, 2008 @ 2:59 am

    How creative! I looove it!

  2. Ellen
    September 18th, 2008 @ 9:21 am

    That’s really nice. How creative you are

  3. Girlie
    September 18th, 2008 @ 12:34 pm

    wowee! you are good, i am jealous!

  4. phisch
    September 18th, 2008 @ 12:50 pm

    Awww…thanks :)

  5. edie
    September 20th, 2008 @ 9:29 pm

    Like it? I do! I do!

  6. phisch
    September 21st, 2008 @ 2:05 am

    Awwww…thanks, Edie, that means a lot! How are things in NoLa lately? Ok?

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