After working from home for almost a year now, I find myself needing more space to hang a few key documents from work. Enter the DIY magnetic bulletin board.
Initially, I was just going to buy something cute off of Etsy. However, when I finally found some that had the color and size I wanted, it was more money than I was willing to spend.
I talked to my husband about how difficult it would be to make one and he said it would be a pretty simple project, so I set out to find the materials I needed. All in all, I was able to make the magnetic bulletin board for around $35 total.
I only had to buy the fabric and the sheet metal. We had some leftover 1×2 boards in our garage that was enough to make what we needed.
Here are the instructions for the DIY magnetic bulletin board that I made. The size I chose to go with was 16 in x 20 in.
Materials for Magnetic Bulletin Board
- 1×2 pine boards – (minimum of 72 inches or 6 feet)
- Sheet Metal
- Burlap fabric
- Nails (no longer than 2 inches)
- Staples (for staple gun)
- Wood glue (optional)
- Rare earth magnets (optional)
Tools Required for Magnetic Bulletin Board
- Scissors
- Saw (can also have Home Depot cut to size)
- Nail gun or hammer
- Staple gun
- Razor Knife
- Clamps
- 90-degree positioning squares
Step by Step Guide to Make Magnetic Bulletin Board
1. Cutting the Wood for the Frame
The first step to creating the wood frame for the magnetic bulletin board is to cut the wood to the right size. The size you cut it to will depend on how you want to make the cuts. Either way you choose to cut the boards, keep in mind you can do it yourself using a saw you have a home, or you can ask the folks at a local Home Depot to cut the boards for you.
Option 1: Cut Straight Boards
If you choose to cut the boards so they are straight on each side, you will have to remember to cut one direction a little short to account for the overlap.
For example, if you cut two sections that were 20 inches and wanted the other direction of the finished product to be 16 inches, you would then cut the shorter boards to be 14.5 inches instead of 16.
Option 2: Cut Boards at an Angle
If you choose to cut the boards at an angle, you can cut the boards to exactly the size you want the board to be. In this case, I cut two to be 16 inches and two other sections that were 20 inches.
I then had to do the additional step of cutting the corners at a 45-degree angle to put my boards together.
2. Create the wood frame
Layout the frame in a rectangle shape. We had the 1-inch side of the board down on the table and the 2-inch side perpendicular to the table.
I chose to use wood glue to initially connect my frame and then nailed it after the fact. Wood gluing the corners would probably have not been necessary, but I liked that there was added reinforcement with this method.
After I applied the wood glue, I put the 90-degree positioning square to the corner and then used clamps to hold the wood frame to the positioning square.
After the wood glue had time to dry (at least 24 hours – check your bottle to be certain), we came back and used a nail gun in each of the corners. We put at least 2 nails going each direction at the corner.
3. Cut the Sheet Metal
Once the frame was complete, we used the frame as a template to cut the sheet metal to size.
We lined up the frame to one corner of the sheet metal and used clamps to tighten it in place down to the table.
Then, running a razor knife along the edge, my husband worked in a nice cut into the sheet metal along each side of the frame.
This was not enough to cut through the sheet metal. After there was a good, deep line cut into the sheet metal, he used the edge of the table to bend the metal and break it off.
4. Attach the Sheet Metal to the Wood Frame
The next step is to attach the sheet metal to the wood frame.
Lay the sheet metal over the frame so it covers the wood frame and there isn’t any overhang. Then, clamp the frame with the metal on top of it down to the table.
The clamping will ensure that the frame and metal do not move when you nail the metal onto the frame.
Use a nail gun, to nail the sheet metal to the wood frame. We placed nails every few inches. There isn’t an exact science to this. Just place them frequently enough so it will stay in place.
5. Cut the Fabric
I made the mistake of not measuring my fabric. Instead, I laid the fabric over the top of the board and cut where I thought I had enough hanging over the edge.
This led to one of my edges not having quite as much fabric as needed to pull it around the edge of the wood frame.
We were able to make it work, but again it wasn’t ideal.
I would recommend adding 3.5 to 4 inches of additional fabric on each size. So instead of cutting a 16 in x 20 in piece of fabric, you would be cutting a 20 in x 24 in piece of fabric.
The best way to cut the fabric into a rectangular shape is to start at one corner of the fabric. Measure over 24 inches to one direction. Make a mark with a pen or sharpie.
Then do the same thing in the opposite direction. Start at the same corner and measure 20 inches this time and make a mark with a pen or a sharpie.
Then using a ruler or a tape measure, you’d want to line up the ruler/tape measure with the mark. You could use the 90-degree positioning square here to make sure it stays square. Then draw a straight line down using the pen or shapie.
Do the same thing for the second mark. Use the 90-degree positioning square to keep the ruler or tape measure at a 90-degree angle to the fabric and draw a straight line down until it intersects with your first line.
You will then have the outline of the rectangle to cut out.
6. Attach the Fabric to the Frame
For this step, I recommend using a staple gun. I had initially read somewhere that I should use modge podge to attach the fabric to the metal.
I tried this and it looked terrible. When the modge podge dried, the board was all crusty looking from where the modge podge had been applied.
I decided to rip it off and start again.
This time we simply stapled it to the inside of the wood frame around the backside of the bulletin board.
I was initially worried that this method would make the fabric on the front of the bulletin board look saggy. So far it seems to be holding up.
Just make sure you pull the fabric really tight on each side as you staple it on to the wooden frame.
As you can see in the pictures below, we put staples on the outside and the inside of the frame. Some of them on the outside were sticking up, so we decided to hammer them down flat when we were done.
7. Complete & Enjoy!
When the board is complete, you just put the earth magnets on it and hang whatever you like to enjoy your board!
Completed DIY Magnetic Bulletin Board
I’m so happy to finally have this project complete. I’m planning to hang the bulletin board in my office space in our spare bedroom.
I missed having the space to hang a few key items that I reference almost daily at work. Having this beautiful board to hang them on is a great way to get that done!
Not only is it practical, but it’s also very pretty!
Plus, it gave my husband and me something to do together while our daughter was napping during these cold winter months. It was some nice bonding time and I got to use some of his fun tools.
There had been a time in the past where I was nervous and hesitant to try these sorts of DIY projects. I always doubted my ability to do projects like this.
When my husband and I went through our separation, I was forced to have to try things like this around my house.
It grew my confidence and I realized that although it may take me longer to do these projects, I’m very capable of getting them done.
If you’re interested in making yourself a DIY board, let me know how it goes!
