Stitches 'n Glitches: Magnet Boards

If you want to make a very easy magnet board, there's a tutorial on this website that's good. It uses a picture frame, which makes many of the difficult steps in my boards obsolete. Since I was making a lot of boards, buying that many frames wasn't an option.

So I started out by going to Lowes. In the plumbing section, I found joist panning, which was under $7 a sheet. (If you say you're looking for flashing, and get sent to roofing, you're going to be paying a lot more). This sheet was 16" by 36".

The size of this sheet let me make six 8" by 11" boards. I marked the panning with a sharpie, and then cut with metal snips. PLEASE WEAR GLOVES when cutting this stuff. The edges are sharp and will cut your hand up nicely if you aren't careful.

Since this stuff is thin and sharp, and I wasn't putting it into a frame, I took needle-nose pliers and folded down the corners.

Here's an 8x11 board. I then marked a dot near the top at 3" and 8" where my husband would drill holes for ribbon hangers I would add later.

Here my wonderful husband has drilled the holes for me. If you're using a frame, you can completely skip the drilling as you can add your hanger to the frame.

Since I'm not using a frame, I didn't want to use hot glue (which is my usual craft go-to necessity). Instead I used a spray adhesive. It helped me get a more finished look, and I didn't have to iron the fabric. Warning: this stuff is VERY sticky, and the fumes are harsh. I would pick up a few $1 tablecloths from the dollar store and a couple pairs of dishwashing gloves to protect your furniture and your hands. And work in a well ventilated place (outside preferably).

Spray the entire surface of the panning, then lay your fabric over it and smooth it out with your hands. A note about fabric: light and thin linen work well. You don't want something too thick because it makes it harder for the magnets to stick. Also, random patterns mean you don't have to have your fabric lined up perfectly, unlike linear patterns. Cut your fabric so that you have an inch or two overhang around your panning.

Next, spray the corners of the flashing, and then fold down the corners of fabric and press to stick.

Next, spray along the outer edge of the panning, and fold down the fabric, pressing so it adheres.

Since I was handing these out as gifts, I wanted the back to look finished as well. I had some leftover felt from a previous project and decided to use it. I cut the felt out slightly larger than the board. I sprayed the entire back with the adhesive and pressed on the felt. Then I used scissors to trim the felt overhang.