DIY Magnetic Makeup Board

Or, in which I attempt to imitate Pinterest and succeed!

I have loved the idea of a magnetic makeup board since I first read about it a few years ago. Since then, the idea has spread like wildfire across the Internet. The Huffington Post touted these boards as THE way to reduce stress in the morning, Pinterest has dozens of different takes on the concept, and a Kickstarter campaign to make them for retail was successfully funded. Basically, magnetic makeup boards are the new Hansel. So hot right now.

And I still wanted one! Especially since I've started using a wider variety of makeup, and doing so more frequently. BareMinerals has some really pretty stuff, ok? And don't tell me that you could resist 20 eyeshadows for 30 dollars, because I know you couldn't! Anyhow. Lots of makeup, not so great storage (unless you think a dusty vinyl makeup bag is super awesome, in which case I have something you might be interested in...), and a bathroom counter that was getting too crowded. It was time!

But... I'm also kinda lazy and slow to get motivated. So it took some self-convincing before I actually got started. Especially since I got a sewing machine for Christmas and was sure that I needed to use that first... anyhow! Last Sunday I actually went out and bought the first few necessary items for my project. Namely, a picture frame and some fabric. Now, most bloggers would tell you to just skip on down to the thrift store where you'll find a lovely frame for just $3 that somehow no one else has noticed and doesn't have suspicious stains on it. That was overly cynical, I apologize. I love thrift stores. I just haven't had ANY luck finding quality picture frames in them. They've all been hideous. Like, really hideous. Anyhow! I decided that, rather than try my luck at a thrift store and get frustrated, I'd simply go to a store and buy a frame I liked. Which I did. It is lovely. Then I headed on over to the craft store to hunt for the right fabric - which was actually much harder than I'd anticipated. I wanted something that matched the greyish wood of the frame and also went with our bathroom's colors. It took some hunting but I finally found a pretty sea green fabric with a light grey pattern. Perfect!

Yesterday we went to get the other supplies I'd need. Namely, the sheet metal, magnets, and a hot glue gun. Home Depot was clearly the answer! Except, apparently, I'd been misled. Many (seriously, all) articles I'd read said that Home Depot could cut metal sheets to size upon request. Well, that may be true at some locations, but not the one I went to! Only wood cutting saws at that location! Fortunately, they sold these fun little things called "snips" that are designed for cutting sheet metal. So though I didn't mean to leave with a brand new tool, I did. Hooray!

When we got home, I assembled all necessary equipment. Mostly so I could take a picture of it ahead of time. Anyhow! As you see here, I have the picture frame, fabric, spray adhesive, work gloves, glue gun and glue sticks, magnets, snips, and sheet metal. The very first step was to cut the sheet metal down to size. I was a bit nervous, because hello sharp edges, but with the work gloves and some careful handling I was able to get it done.

Oooooh!

The key was to bend the metal I wasn't going to use away from the metal I wanted. Hence the metal on the right is a bit warped looking while the metal on the left is still flat. My frame measurements were 11.5 by 13.5, and the metal was 12x24. The easiest part was actually cutting off that teeny half-inch. As you can see, the metal twisted on its own as I cut it, conveniently moving out of the way of my snips and my hands. Good job, metal!

I'm turning that twisty bit into a Christmas ornament.

The next step was to attach the fabric to the metal. Luckily I still had some spray adhesive from another craft project a year or so ago, and knew that it would work for this as well. Unluckily, I'd left the fabric folded up for the past week, so it was full of wrinkles when I pulled it out. Iron to the rescue! Once all the wrinkles (almost typed wronkles) were out, I was able to quickly and easily attach it to the metal. I let it dry for about half an hour, then moved it inside to let it dry more. Once it had, I popped it in the frame.

Wronkles ahoy!

So I had my completed frame (which looked awesome, but the picture not so much) and now I needed to get the makeup on there. Time to break out the hot glue gun! I bought literally the smallest cheapest one they had at Home Depot, but it worked out well. I hadn't used a hot glue gun in years, but it turns out it's just like riding a bicycle: terrifying at first but once you move past the fear of terrible injury it's really fun!

Check out the reflections in the lids. Artsy, kinda!

I had a tough choice to make regarding the placement of magnets. Obviously on eye makeup that had a little window on the lid, I could place the magnet on the back. But BareMinerals apparently likes solid lids, which is less than convenient for seeing the color you want. So I put the magnets on the shiny, shiny lids and tried not to fret too much.

I wanted to destroy something beautiful.

As you can see, some of the bigger items required two magnets to stay up. Unfortunately, I'd only bought 20 magnets, so I wasn't able to get everything taken care of today. But! Those 20 magnets let me make a good start - check it out!

Ta-Da!

There you have it! My completed magnetic makeup board! I'm still debating whether to get a little jar or cup for eyeliners, brushes, etc - it looks cute, but I don't want to put too much weight on the board. I might just buy a jar to set on the counter. Still neater than my dusty old vinyl makeup bag! (Seriously, does anyone want it?) I'm going to call this effort a rousing success! Next up: sewing!