Make Your Own Magnetic Chalkboard

I found the above frame at Goodwill for only $3. I loved how large and chunky it was, but it was otherwise really ugly. Fortunately, it wasn't anything that a little paint couldn't fix. I bought it before we moved here and wasn't certain how I would use it. After we decided to make Sarah a little reading nook, I knew that the frame would be perfect for a magnetic chalkboard. The ledge on the frame is even large enough to hold a few pieces of chalk, a lucky accident.

Materials needed:

• Frame
• Board - I bought a 2' x 4' x 1/4" press board that I cut to size.
• Magnetic primer
• Chalkboard paint

1) Paint on magnetic primer. Make sure you stir it really well, and apply thin smooth coats. I applied three coats with a foam roller. Let dry.

2) Paint on chalkboard paint. You can buy this in the regular, non-spray, format as well, but I knew I didn't need a ton and I like the ease of spray paint. I put on three coats.

3) Prep chalk surface. Once the paint is dry, prep the board by rubbing the side of chalk over the entire surface. Erase it, and it's ready to use.

4) Attach press board to frame. I used my staple gun to fasten the board to the frame.

I found this picture, and it reminded me of a few things. This frame actually got a couple different colors of paint before I was happy with it. I tried both a light green and a metallic gold-ish color, but neither worked in the space. Also, as you can see, the frame was initially in the horizontal/landscape position. I decided to reposition it in order to cover that phone jack on the wall. This was just a good reminder that, more often than not, my projects don't turn out exactly the way that I want on the first try. The good news though is that you learn from your mistakes and usually you can easily fix things.