sassacraft #8

i love magnets! i love the attractive properties of magnets, the fact that they stick together or they repulse each other, and that there is no middle ground with them like there is with people. magnets are simple to understand. people are not. so i like magnets.

also, there are a lot of things that can be made into magnets, if you just glue them to a magnet. i've made bottle caps from African sodas into magnets, and knick-knacks for childhood into magnets, and pins into magnets. and i want to make more magnets. but for all my magnets to function properly, i need to have a magnet board. and, i do. two, in fact. but they are drab, silver metal sheets that are a little difficult to hang because they don't have holes or anything. at my old house, they were screwed into the wall with braces. four braces each for two boards. that's a lot of screw holes in the wall. and, that method isn't very attractive. so my sweet friend Emily let me borrow one of her sewing books. i used some great fabric i picked up at IKEA (best.store.ever) and followed the (mostly) simple steps.

disclaimer: i am NOT a sew-er or a seamstress, nor am i craftily inclined to sewing. i'd love to learn, but cutting and sewing in straight lines is a big obstacle in my way. i mis-measured or mis-cut or mis-sew-ed for this project about six times...

step one: glue metal (make sure it's magnetic first) to a sheet of foam core that is one inch longer all around than the metal.

step two: duct tape the edge of the metal, overlapping the metal by no more than 1/2 inch, and wrap excess tape around back of foam core.

step three: cut fabric to be two inches* longer than foam core on all sides. (* this is what the book said, so it's what i did. however, it left a lot of excess fabric and the finished product isn't quite as snug-fitting as i'd like it. but i don't have enough sewing knowledge to tell you how to fix this dilemma.)

step four: cut ribbons to desired length and pin to the right side of the back piece as shown. (i made the ribbon loops, but the book used longer ribbons to make bows. i'm not too big on bows, so i made loops. it's all according to your personal preference.) double-stitch at least once over each ribbon to secure them to the fabric.

step five: (not pictured) pin the right sides of the fabric together and sew a seam around the top, bottom, and one side of the fabric, using about a 5/8 inch seam allowance.

step six: turn the fabric right side out and iron down the seams to make them lay flat. fold the open side in and iron to crease. i folded it in about an inch, but make sure you measure so that the ribbons remain centered.

step seven: slide the metal and foam core into the pocket and blind stitch the open end closed.

step eight: hang on wall. use magnets to attach pictures and notes. enjoy!