DIY Magnetic Fabric Memo Boards

Last weekend, Hannah and I created magnetic memo boards to coordinate with her new room.  They were really quick, simple, and inexpensive to make.  They're going to be great for displaying her important papers and photos. Not to mention they bring softness and color to the desk area. 

 Instead of making one large board, we chose to make four separate boards to hang in a group over the desk.  Here is how we did it...

Materials/Tools

3/4" plywood cut into four 20" squares

one roll of tin flashing

tin snips

1/2" screws

power drill

wall hangers and drywall anchors

fabric

grosgrain ribbon

Staple gun

craft flowers

craft glue

craft magnets

The first step was getting 3/4" plywood cut to the correct size.  

The nice guys at Home Depot were happy to do this for me.  I asked them to cut a sheet of plywood into four 20"squares.  

Using my power drill, I attached two metal hangers on the back of each square.  

I covered the front of the squares with tin flashing using 1/2 inch screws and a power drill.  

The tin flashing came in a roll.   Using tin snips {and wearing canvas work gloves} I carefully cut the tin to cover the 20" inch square piece of plywood.   After screwing it into place, I lightly tapped the sharp edges with a hammer for a smooth, safe, edge.  

This is the point in the project where I enlisted Hannah to help.  

We used a cotton drape from the same collection as her bedding {Potterybarn Teen} to cover the boards.  We cut the drape into four 26" squares.  This gave us enough fabric to wrap around each of the boards and secure on the back with a staple gun.  

For added interest, we ran a stripe of 2" grosgrain ribbon {Walmart} along the edge of each board attached on the back with a staple.  

Using dry wall anchors {where the stud was absent} we mounted the boards on the wall over her desk.

  

We used a semi-thick fabric to cover the tin, so we needed to use extra strong magnets
found at Office Max. 

To amp up the prettiness, we made flower magnets by gluing plain round magnets {Office Max} to the back of craft flowers {Walmart}.  

Now it just needs her personalization...artwork, awards, ribbons, postcards, photos and other things that are important to her. 

{Awe, thanks Hannah.  That's so sweet.}

This was a really fun project to work on together.  

Having a hands on roll in the design process was exciting for her.  

And a big help to me.  

Thanks for stopping by.