Magnet Board - Lace Painted

Before my eldest Princess moved out, she asked me if I could get her a magnet board. Basically, anyone can make a magnet board. I have done a few over the years. If you are crafty with wood or know someone that is, you can make one out of cheap lumber to paint.

If you aren't so crafty with wood, this is the easiest method. You buy a frame already made either at a second hand store or a craft store. If you like the color of the frame, just go to the heating and air conditioning store and ask to buy some thin metal sheeting and they will cut it for you. If they are really nice, they will just give it to you because they have scrap pieces.

If you find a frame that you like but don't like the color, you can do several things. If it is varnished or plastic, you will have to use a light sand paper or steel wool to rough it up so that the paint will stick.

You can use spray paint or acrylic paint. My daughter wanted to do a texture technique so she painted a base coat of a blue color and once that was dried, she used some lace pieces I had to paint a texture on. She laid the lace on top of the dried blue color and used a sponge to paint cream over the top giving it an uneven texture.

Once the paint and texture are dried, you can varnish it using a paint on varnish but that will take time to dry. I usually use a spray on satin varnish or clear coat so that the paint doesn't chip or scratch.

If you don't like the different colors, you can just rough up the edges of the single color look by sanding them down. You can use a toothbrush and dip it into the paint and flick it with your finger to give it a speckled look with another color of paint.

If you like really textured, you can cover the frame using fabric that matches the room you intend to use the board in and just use a staple gun or thumb tacks on the back to hold it on tight.

There are so many options on the frames. For the board itself, I like leaving it the gray. However, There is a paint that has metal bits in it and I have sprayed that over the gray but it is funny because the paint with the metal flecks is just a darker gray.

You can buy any type of cute button or broach etc to make into magnets just by glue gunning magnets on the back. You can buy magnets by the gross at any craft store. You can even make small magnets out of the small square tiles by using scratch lettering on them and then gluing a magnet on the back. That is what she has on her board. It has stickers on little square tiles with magnets glued on the back and the words say, "JOY" when lined up.

It is easiest if you can just find a frame you like already and just get a piece of sheet metal to fit. Even if they make you pay for the piece, it is usually quite inexpensive.

Have fun however you make it! For some reason my internet won't stay hooked up long enough to load pictures. I had to make the one's I could get uploaded smaller files and even then I have spent 2 hours uploading and can only get the three up. If I can figure out the internet, I will post the others another time. This has been the last week or so but tonight is the worst.