because fabric makes everything better

okay, first things first, thank you so much for all the sweet comments reassuring me that i am not the only one who second guesses myself when i am making a gift for someone else!

when making gifts for others, my first rule is it has to be something i would want. and, well, some would say i am finicky. (and, some might say picky, but i prefer the former as it sounds nicer ;) this year, i just couldn't find any inspiration in catalogs or the blog world, so i turned to my stash. i found several magnet strips from ikea i bought a couple of years ago with good intentions to make cute for my kids artwork. then, i found two big ikea boards (similar to this). but, i had 5 teachers and 4 co-workers who needed gifts. so, i searched for a similar board and found nothing. then, while wandering through hobby lobby, i stumbled upon this:

they call it wall decor. it met all my requirements: metal, substantial in size and weight, and 50% off. really, no one should pay full price for anything from there.

i bought 5. one for 4 of the teachers and one for myself because i was starting to get excited about the project. and, collected my supplies.

now, if you own this and it hangs on your wall as is, please do not be offended because that is not the intention. but, the next thing i did was paint a thin coat of acrylic paint over the print.

then, after it dried, i flipped it over and trimmed my fabric so i had about an inch border all the way around. i used a simple linen colored cotton, but it would also be cute in a fun print.

i painted it with a coat of mod podge.

and flipped it face down making sure to smooth out any wrinkles.

 then, i cut the corners like so  . . .

 and mod podged all around the edges tucking the fabric under the already attached hooks.


for the finished product, i added some cute ribbon, 4 magnets and our christmas card.

for the magnets: i used 7/8" covered buttons and fabric scraps like you see in the back ground above (i may have a fabric addiction). i added magnets with hot glue because e6000 is not my friend (or maybe i am impatient, or maybe it was already 2 a.m.). and, made some adorable-y cute, mismatched magnets which may or may not be the entire reason i made this gift.

i thought this would be a cute way to display notes or photos or bits of inspiration or whatever. what would you do with it?