Do it yourself Magnetic Board and Magnets

A couple of weekends ago we laid laminate flooring over the existing linoleum in our back room. Our back room is currently a combination Barbie Room/Kids Craft Room/Storage area. I took this opportunity to make a few changes to the way the room is organized, starting with the creation of a magnetic board.

I had seen this idea in the July 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, (my Mother in law gives me her copies when she is done with them), ripped it out, and had been waiting for the right time to make it.

The walls in the back room are made of panelling - not the right material to do what the magazine did. Plus, I thought if I did it on a board, it would be movable, good at such time that we do decide to renovate the walls in that room.

Another project for another day.

Anyways, after debating with my husband what material would be best to use and dragging him along to our local Habitat for Humanity Restore and Rona, we noticed this board just sitting in the back of his truck.


Exactly what I was looking for.

We noticed THAT as we were putting all of our Rona purchases in the back of the truck. This piece of plywood came out of my Dad's barn and had been in Jeff's truck for who knows how long, and who knows why.

So, as is typical for me, I seized it.

After a light sanding, and a light once over with soap and water, I painted it with the magnetic paint I found at Rona. (yes, I know that's a Home Depot link).

It was extremely hot on this day so the coats dried very quickly. I used the whole can, about 5 coats total. Next I painted over it with regular paint.

The colour is called "Freshly Squeezed".


Once dry, Jeff attached it to wall above the kids craft table.

I had also seen a cute "create your own magnets idea" here and felt they would be a perfect addition to the board.

First you need some "bottle caps".

We have no shortage of those.

Ahem.

Then, use a quarter to trace little circles out of cardstock or construction paper.

We used cardstock.

Cut the circles out.

Lay a length of packing tape sticky side up on the table and place your circles on one end of it, folding the other end over so the circles are then covered by the tape.

Of course, if you have a laminator, just use that. It would be much simpler.

She is holding 2 seperate pieces here.

You then cut those circles out and they will fit inside the caps.

We then covered them with a generous layer of mod podge using paintbrushes.

Use whatever supplies you like to decorate them. Makenna had this set in her craft cupboard. Lots of little sequins, beads, etc to be used with embroidery.

You could also use googly eyes, tiny bits of paper, fabric, etc.

Mod Podge dries clear, so once your decorations are dry on the caps, you can apply another coat over top to seal them if you like. We found some of them needed that second coat, some of them didn't.


Once dry, affix some type of magnetic material to the back - the stronger the better. We used magnetic tape. You can find this in Dollar Stores and Craft Stores.

Ta da!!! Personalized, one of a kind magnets for Personalized, one of a kind peices of Art!

The Finished Product....

We also found some unused trim in our garage that I want painted white and put around the edges, just to "finish it"...but as is usual in this house, my husband tends not to get around to trim.

I also spray painted an old picture frame (that I seized from Jodi's porch) black and attached it to the board. In the middle is a print out of 100 Ways to Praise A Child.

The cost of this project was really just the paint. The board came out of my dad's barn, the trim (that you don't see in the picture because it isn't finished but will be some day) we found in our garage, the bottle caps we had (and likely have enough for all of you as well...ahem) and the supplies used for the magnets we had too.

Total cost including taxes: Around $40. The Magnetic Paint was the most expensive item for the whole project.

I'm happy with it. The kids have a nice, organized area in which to display their masterpeices and I can take it down and move it if I have to.

You know...when we redo the walls in that room.

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