Magnetic Display Board

I have always loved arts and crafts.  From making friendship bracelets in grade school to taking advanced level painting classes at the University, I have always been happiest when I'm making something with my hands.  Last year, I taught art for preschool through high school at a very small private school.  Finally, I could come up with as many ideas as I could think of for all age groups, and I had people to make them.  But I stopped making things for myself.  Art is therapy for me, and I missed my weekly sessions.  My husband took a job as a band director at a school, and over the summer we moved down to Hueytown, AL.  I left the private school and started working as a special education paraprofessional in Hueytown.  The job is amazing, and my husband and I have much more free time now that our schedules are basically the same.  Earlier this week as I was searching all the craft sites that I love, my husband told me to decide what craft I wanted to make and we'd go buy the supplies.  This is the one I decided on.

A magentic display board.

It was quick and easy and simple to make.  I used a lot of supplies I had a home (scrapbook paper, the free magnets that businesses give away, the two miles of ivory toule I have left over from decorating our wedding).  The only thing I bought was a set of stove burner covers.  Yes you read that right.  I hit up the local family dollar and bought a set of four stove burner covers for $5.  I picked out a sheet of scrapbook paper (I chose the music sheet in honor of my husband), covered the top of the cover with hodge podge, flipped it upside down and stuck it to the paper.  Turn in back over to smooth out any bubbles that creep up.  I let it dry (which was hard because I hate to wait) and then traced around the edge of the burner cover with an exacto knife to cut out the circle.  I covered the circle with puzzle glue to seal it and give it just a bit of shine.  I hot glued a piece of toule to use as a hanger to the back of it. 

To make the magnets, I cut up a favorite leftover piece of scrapbook paper that looks like postage stamps.  I hot glued the paper to a magnet I got for free from a local business.  This was the end result, and I love it.

I still had stove burner covers to spare, so I also made one into a small tray to display and hold items.  This one sits on my coffee table.  To make it, I just glued the scrapbook paper to the inside of the cover rather than the top.  It now holds one of our wedding pictures and a fabric flower that I made (along with a key and a paperclip, but they're not important.)

Making these pieces was a blast, and I did all of them in about two hours, including drying time.  And I still have the two smaller covers left to play with!  I can't wait to see what will be accidentally wonderful next...