Behold! One fancy magnet board!

I stole today’s DIY from here: Curbly.com. I saw it and was reminded of my overwhelming desire to acquire a corkboard and organize all of the things scattered on my desk in such a way that they would be both off of my desk and vertical. “How to Make a Woodgrain Magnetic Memo Board” – done, yes, let’s do this, magnets, I’m into this. It functions exactly the same as a corkboard but with all of the glory of magnets – everything I have ever wanted.

Now, be warned, I did not follow Curbly’s instructions. I looked at the pictures briefly and then did what I thought made sense – and it worked wonderfully. Because it is just so easy! I even added an EXCITING TWIST to this project, but you have to read (or scroll) to the end to find out what it is!

What you need:

• Magnet Board (I got mine from Ikea, too)
• Scissors
• Contact Paper
• Magnets*
• Glue (preferably with/from a glue gun)*
• Tzotchkes*

* For the TWIST

The Supplies

1. Place the magnet board onto the contact paper, facing down. This is so you can measure out how much contact paper you will need to cover the board.

Place Magnet Board onto Contact Paper

2. Cut the Contact Paper. Cut off the excess contact paper but make sure you leave enough room to wrap the paper around the sides of the board… much like wrapping a present.

Behold the Majesty of the Scissor

3. Peel off the back of the contact paper and place it on the magnet board. You will need a keen eye and an aggressive stance against air bubbles for this one. Take your time, there’s no rush. Slowly smooth the contact paper onto the magnet board (which, by the way, you should clean beforehand), and press out any lumps and bumps. You will notice I did not purchase “Woodgrain” contact paper. I choose “Faux Leather” because I am incredibly stylish.

Steady, Slow, Smooth.

4. Fold the edges around the back of the board. Like wrapping a present, you need to smooth the paper around the corners and continue around the back. It is helpful to give the corners a little snip so it folds and sticks better, like so:

Cut the Corners

5. Cut, Fold, Stick. Cut, fold, stick.

Cut, Fold, Stick

Beautiful Corners.

Tah Dah!

I hope you are ready for the twist: Make Your Own Magnets!

1. Gather up your Tzotchkes and Magnet Pieces. You will notice I have a selection of delectably-crafty items that apparently originated from various locations in Latin America. They sit on my desk as colourful clutter, but because I am in love with the people who gave them to me they have sentimental value to the max and must be honored accordingly. So I’m going to turn them into magnets to adorn my fancy new faux leather magnet board!

Llama and his Amigo are going to get Magnetic

I bought magnet strips to stick to these little guys – I was going to cut up the magnet I got from the dentist but it was busy holding up the collage of pictures and notes on my fridge.

2. Glue Magnet Pieces to Your Llama. It is helpful to first cut your magnet strips (or old magnets) to fit the back of whatever item you are turning into a magnet. Now, I got the magnet strips that are supposed to be sticky on one side – mine were not sticky on one side despite the package’s (empty) promises. Regardless, it is probably better to glue them with a glue gun anyway, since the bond is much stronger and satisfaction is guaranteed. Glue glue glue and then quickly stick as the glue dries quicktime.

Glue the back of the magnet (not the magnetic side) with the glue gun

Place the magnet on the back of the tzotchke. Do it fast! And make sure you put the glue on the non-magnetic side of the magnet.

I made another magnet by lining up these Guatemalan Worry Dolls that someone got me in Mexico. Global Village High Five! Come hang out on my new faux leather magnet board little guys!

3. Throw those magnets up on your fancy new magnet board and stand back to marvel at your creative genius.

(Editor’s note: this super nifty post was originally published March 3rd, 2011. Reduce, reuse, recycle – as we always say!)