Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Magnet Board

We have all stainless steel appliances in our house. They look beautiful, but the one thing {besides the fingerprints} I have always hated was that my boys never had anywhere to play with magnets. When Henry and Grant were younger I would give them a cookie sheet and some magnets to play with, but that just was never as much fun as playing with them on the wall or on the refrigerator.magnet board sneak peekSo, I made my own magnet board for the kitchen {with a little TON of help from my hubby}.

SUPPLIES:
Sheet of metal
wood trim
spray paint
buffing compound
adhesive

I picked up the supplies for this project for around $20 at Lowes. The sheet of metal was around $10, the trim was around $6, the spray paint was $3, and Jason already had the buffing compound and the adhesive.First, we had to decide how big we wanted our magnet board to be. Ours was only going to be a little bit smaller than the precut pieces of metal at Lowes, so Jason brought it home and trimmed it down. I'm pretty sure that they will also cut it to size for you at the store.

Then, Jason cut the frame and I spray painted them with at least three coats of black. I knew there would be lots of little hands on this, so I wanted it to be as durable as possible.

Jason also used some buffing compound to polish the metal so it would be shiny. We used some spray adhesive to attach the metal to the side of the kitchen cabinet, and then we attached the frame to the metal piece using the same adhesive. You could also use screws or nails to hold the metal and frame into place depending on where you put it. Now the boys have a fun place to play with magnets, and because it is in the kitchen {but not close to the stove} they can play in the kitchen more while I am cooking dinner. Now maybe I can get my tupperware cabinet organized:)


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DIY Day @ ASPTL




The Girl Creative

44 comments:

  1. Great idea. My hubby hates a cluttered fridge. I might just copy this idea.

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  2. Very cute! I love the idea of giving the kids a dedicated space to play with their magnets...maybe then my fridge wouldn't look so manic!

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  3. Oh Lovely how sweet and practical is this..Great Tip thanks for sharing stopped over from Tip Junkie :)

    Mayya @ Sew Chic and Unique
    www.sewchicandunique.com

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  4. Great Idea! I'd love to make a super big one to hang on my kitchen wall for notes and pictures!

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  5. This is terrific! I'm sure your boys absolutely love it.

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  6. Now see..you have the patience and forethought to make it look so nice. Me...I woulda just hot glued a cookie sheet to the wall or something!

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  7. You are so good!! All these things you come up with are so awesome, and so affordable!

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  8. This is really a great idea. It looks so great and expensive! Thanks for sharing, found you at Tip Junkie's Link party--glad I did!

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  9. What a great idea. You are so creative. Love it!

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  10. Wow! That is awesome...you go girl!

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  11. i love that! i think it's super fun that it matches the rest of the kitchen. great job!

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  12. That is so cool! You are a wealth of ideas my friend.

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  13. Just so you know, having a magnetic surface to play with (which T loves) does NOT equal an organizaed tupperware cabinet. She just hops back and forth between the two. :) haha!

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  14. Look at you! That is a great idea and I'm sure the boys will love it.

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  15. Wow! That's a great solutions! It really turned out cute!

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  16. This is a great idea! I have the same issues with the stainless. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  17. What a fabulous idea for little one! Thanks for stopping by Not Just Paper and Glue!

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  18. THat is pretty cute! We're selling this house, so I'm not doing anything new...but very cool

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  19. Wow! That fits so seemlessly into your kitchen decor. Good job!

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  20. Genious! I'm sure your boys have tons of fun with their new magnetic board. What a great use of space :)

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  21. That is awesome! Magnets stick to our fridge, but I wanted to make the kids a chalkboard to put on the side of our cabinets. I love seeing yours, it gives me a great visual of what mine could look like. I think I'll have to do it now! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  22. That is a great project Kelli. And what a wonderful spot. I bet your kids love it. A perfect place to practice spelling words.

    XOOX
    Jen

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  23. Love this idea! You should sell these!
    P.S. Good luck with the tupperware cabinet :)

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  24. i have decided that you need to receive the "world's craftiest mom" award. this is a great idea! we have stainless too (if i ever get to do it over again i'm so going for solid black - way easier to keep clean!) so i should be making one of these!

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  25. That is so clever! We don't have stainless steel {jealous! haha!} so I didn't have that problem...Alex sticks magnets wherever he can! haha! I love how it looks, that is a perfect place for them to play! Love it! I still want to do a chalkboard wall somewhere...but not sure where!

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  26. Creative! And too funny b/c I wish we had stainless steel appliances so that my kids wouldn't constantly be sticking stuff on my fridge!

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  27. You are so adventurous & creative. Great job. My fridge has those letters all over it. Wonderful idea.

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  28. Thank you for sharing this fabulous idea. One of my gal pals was just complaining about not being able to use the magnet letters on the stainless steal appliances. She will love this idea.
    I hope you have a fabulous day!

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  29. Great idea...and I need it we are buying new appliances any day now...and my daughter loves her magnets! Thanks for stopping by 504 Main.

    Holly
    504 Main

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  30. That is a great idea!! Thanks for sharing it with us!! Come on back and check out the rest of the post for today!!

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  31. I love that! Thanks for sharing it, I too have all stainless steel appliances and I miss the letters for the kids on the fridge. Going to have to make one of these.

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  32. just found your blog it's really cool I will be back for sure. The magnet board idea is really cool I'll have to see if I can convince my hubby that we need one.

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  33. I love how you put it at "child level" so they can still play!

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  34. Love this idea - we too are plagued with unmagnetic stainless steel. I am having a link party tomorrow (Tuesday) and I'd love to see you there! www.craftedition.blogspot.com

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  35. So cute. I love how it turned out. Thanks for sharing at 'Look at me, I'm SO Crafty!' at Fun to Craft.

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  36. Great idea. We just use a baking tray but this is way cuter! I love your blog. I host Tot Tuesdays every week and would love it if you would stop by and link up. I’m also hosting a giveaway at the moment you might be interested in. Have a great week!

    http://delicious-ambiguity-nennyk.blogspot.com/

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  37. Hi, there! I found you on Remodelaholic and had to stop by and follow you via GFC.

    Great project.

    Cheers,
    Laura

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  38. Thats wonderful. . .I may have to copy this idea.

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  39. This is such a wonderful idea! Looks great.

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  40. I love that project Kelli! And it's in such a good location too!


    Thanks so much for linking up to The CSI Project's hardware Store Challenge! We hope you will come back next week for the Martha Stewart-inspired challenge -- The MS Craft Department are our guest judges!!!

    XOXO
    Jen

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  41. Cute! I have a blog dedicated to early literacy and I'm going to link up. This is adorable. I'm glad there are such creative ladies out there that can teach us how to do such awesome projects. Drop by and check it out. It should be up in a day or so. Also, I have a "Read to Your Child" button if you would like to grab it. Thanks so much.

    Graciously,
    Aimee
    www.onthelap.blogspot.com

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