Burner Cover Magnet Board


I've always wondered if I could make something fun out of those electric burner covers you can find at dollar stores (and Walmart). So when I saw some projects floating around turning them into little magnet boards, I knew I wanted to try it out.

You will need the following:
a metal burner cover (or cookie tin lid)
spray paint (optional)
nail and hammer or a drill for making a set of holes in the cover
scrapbook paper
Mod Podge and brush to apply
a ribbon to hang
fine grit sandpaper
scissors
pen or pencil

I started out by trying to drill holes into the lip of the burner cover, but either I had the wrong kind of drill bits or my drill is a weakling because it didn't work at all.  So I switched to the method you see below of poking a hole in the metal with a large nail. The nail went through pretty easily, but it left the edge of the burner cover with pretty unsightly metal shards poking up.  I did my best to sand these down with some sandpaper and even used the drill to go back through the hole to try to flatten the metal down--it sort of worked.  Punching the holes was by far the most complicated part of this project though. If you want to skip that part and just glue your ribbon onto the edge of the burner cover with a hot glue gun, that would work too.


Next I put all of the covers (they come two to a pack for a dollar, so I bought two packs) into some cardboard boxes and spray painted the backs and edges of the cover to match my scrapbook paper that I had picked out to cover the front of the burner cover. (If you opt to glue on ribbon, you could cover all of the outside edge with ribbon instead of painting it.)


After the paint has dried, flip the burner cover over and trace around it on a piece of scrapbook paper. Cut it out carefully and and glue it onto your burner with the Mod Podge. I used a foam brush to apply a thin coat of paint onto the burner cover and then positioned the paper as carefully as I could and smoothed it out. Once you're sure the edges are all glued securely.  Let it dry.


After it's dried, take a look at the edges of the paper. If they hang over the burner or aren't perfectly circular, you can correct that by sanding off the edges with some sandpaper or an emery board. When your edges are all smooth, put on a couple of coats of Mod Podge over top to seal it. Pay special attention to those edges to make sure they are secure.


When it's all dry you can string it up with ribbon. I just poked the ribbon through the holes and tied it into some double knots. It worked out great. I used a command hook to hang it on the cardboard backing of my desk--I'm sure a nail or little cup hook would look a lot better, but it wasn't an option on this particular material.  It's nice to have a little magnet board on my desk to stick up little notes and the blue patterned paper gives it a nice pop of color on an otherwise dreary cardboard backer.

Be sure to let your mod podge dry for a day or two before using magnets or putting paper on your board so that they don't stick. If your magnet board is still tacky to the touch after your mod podge has completely dried, you can use a clear acrylic sealer over the top to reduce the sticky feeling.

The cost for this project was pretty low--the burner covers were only 50 cents a piece. The biggest cost for this project came from buying some new spray paint, but there's plenty left for additional projects. I was able to use one 12 inch sheet of paper for a small burner cover and the 4 coasters from my terra cotta coaster project.  I picked up some ribbon from Wal-mart for 49 cents a roll and only used 10-12 inch pieces, so there is lots left of that too. If you had paint or chose to go with the existing white edges, this project would come in at around $1. Pretty schnazzy for a buck!

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