Fabric Covered Magnet Board

I've been so excited to share this project with you all! Lilly has been turning out a boatload of artwork, and we were running out of places to display the favorite pieces. There's only so much room on the fridge. We came up with this... 

A fabric covered magnet board for her bedroom!  I am so in love with how it came out, and so is Lilly. She's so proud of herself and all her art. Want one? It's pretty easy, especially since you won't have to repeat my painting fail.

I had originally thought about doing a magnetic chalkboard, and decided that would end in disaster because Lilly knows what a chalkboard is and where her chalk is kept. It's all in the living room, where I can watch her not draw on non-approved surfaces. Then I had the fleeting thought of a cork board - which is just stupid because push pins spell disaster. I mentioned that I really wanted just a magnetic board for her to use, and he suggested some sheet metal. Genius.



Supplies:

• sheet metal; whatever size you like - ours is 24"x36"and was under $10 in the Home Depot. 
• if you're cutting it to size, you need tin snips & gloves
• scrap wood
• wood screws
• wood joiners
• hammer, drill, sawing tools, speed square if you're into perfection
• 3M picture hanging strips
• fabric 
• paint (I went with the $.59 bottle from the craft shop)
• magnets (need a cute set? make these (wink wink)!  
• cute artwork

Assemble the Frame.

Lay out your metal sheet, and cut it to size if you're doing that. This is the box our sheet metal came in, and we found it in the heating section at Home Depot.

Andrew is the resident carpenter, and he made the frame. I don't do table saws. Measure your wood, cut, miter the ends if you like & sand. Lay it out to make sure it'll fit. Measure twice, cut once, right?

I however, assembled the frame. Take your wood joiners...

And your speed square, and line up your pieces.

Hammer those joiners in. We did 3 in each joint, but that's only because we had a dozen of them, and Andrew wanted insane holding power. 

Next, you'll want to go ahead and paint your frame. I have no pictures of this because Andrew did it for me, and I think I was too busy screwing up the next portion of the project. 

Things to NOT Do: Paint the Metal With Craft Paint.

My first idea was to paint the frame a beige (which it is) and the metal this coral pink color.

First coat was promising.

Second coat, was a filthy hot mess. Super cute in my mind, but I'm not sure what I was thinking when I actually thought this paint would adhere to galvanized metal. If I used Rustoleum, I probably would've had a fighting chance, but from what I've read, galvanized metal is difficult to paint and have it wear well because of the coating.

That folks, is what we call, a fail.

Plan B: Fabric.

Andrew took the metal and actually hosed it off out in our yard, and not surprisingly, the paint came right off. Oh well. I had a bunch of this fabric left over from Lilly's 2nd birthday party, and thought it'd be perfect. It's actually vintage sheets I bought on Etsy for a quilt I made Lil. Super cute! 

Lay out your fabric. 

I went for a patchwork look, but you could do whatever design or fabric you like, so long as your magnets are strong enough to hold through the fabric. Need magnets? Check these out!

Pin and sew your pieces together, and don't forget to press your seams flat so your fabric lays nice and smooth.

Top stitch!

Cover the Metal. 
You'll want to lay your fabric, wrong-side up, and put your metal piece on top. Start in the center of each side, and pull your fabric tight around the sheet. Secure the fabric using small pieces of scotch tape (you could probably hot glue too, we used tape). Work your way around the metal, pulling and securing until your fabric is smooth. 

Attach the Frame.
Line up the metal and the frame, and screw them together with your drill and wood screws. We didn't have to pre-drill holes, but you can if you like, or if you're using harder wood (ours was pine). We did 2 screws in each corner, and two along the edges.

Hang.

I'm actually surprised this is straight, because I had Lilly try and hold it up for me so I could see. Not bad for a toddler and pregnant girl, right? We used 3M picture strips along the top edge in each corner, and again on the sides at the bottom. I believe ours were rated for 10lbs, so depending on how heavy your finished product weighs, you might need to adjust these.

How cute!!

She is obsessed with the magnets, and kept putting them in a line. I clearly need to make another set. Probably gold or glitter. GLITTER!

I  love how excited she is to hang her art, and how cute it looks in her bedroom. And how simple it was, after we ditched the painting concept. Below are her spiders with doors, except this looks like toast with arms. I love it!

I'm real glad that original paint idea didn't work out, I love this much more!!

As always, please feel free to pin and share :)
Oh, and I like to party over here!