Chalk/Magnet board How-To!

Hey friends!  I have a really fun craft that I would like to share! I got the idea from one of my favorite blogs called A little of this A little of that.  She created a fabric covered magnet board which is SO adorable.  But I wanted to make something for Caden to go in his Toy Nook.  Really it's just a closet but nook sounds more cozy ;)  So instead of doing the fabric I made it into a chalkboard as well as magnet board!  When he first saw it he was so excited! I wish i could have snapped a picture. But here's how I did it:

Supplies Needed:

Chalkboard Paint
Spray Paint
Gorilla Glue
Hot glue gun
Tin shears to trim the metal down to size. Or if you have a dremel tool you can cut with that too
Picture frame
Joist Sheeting. (the metal sheet)
Picture frame hangers for the back
Fun wooden decor if you want! I got the football and baseball at hobby lobby for $0.99 cents each!

I purchased the frame at Hobby Lobby. It was just a plain unfinished frame for 50% off! I think it was like $6.00 after the discount. I didnt have any the right size on hand so I bought one. But I know you can find steals at Goodwill! The size I bought was 16x20.

The Joist sheeting I got at Lowes. It is in the plumbing section.  It was only around $5.00 for a 16 x 36. It has a nice thickness to it that I think is perfect for projects like this. 

I measured out how long I needed it and drew a line so Jeremy could cut it for me.  If you have tin shears you can use those too but I didnt and didnt want to buy any!  Jeremy has a Dremel and was happy to have an excuse to use it :)

Next I spray painted the frame red and sprayed the metal with the chalkboard paint.

The Chalkboard I sprayed about 4 coats on it.  It took a good two days before it was completely dry.  I did two coats at first and after the initial 24 hours it scratched off too easily. And with Caden using magnets on it as well I knew it needed more. So I did two more coats and waited another 24 hours. 

After they were both dry I glued the chalkboard onto the frame using the gorilla glue.  Now be careful with the gorilla glue because it does expand when it dries and it dries white. So if you use too much it can be seen on the front.  This happened to me but its not that bad and I know caden doesnt care so oh well ;) It only too about an hour for it to dry. 

I hot glued the decor onto the front.  I had to explain to caden after he ripped off the football that it was not a real ball! hehe Obviously didnt use enough glue! So re-glued that and he hasn't tried to take it off again.  

I actually had these picture hanging hooks on hand!  I have no idea why we had them, but I knew they were in the garage so score! didnt have to buy them.  And tiny nails too! See the glue kind of sticking out? this is the back though so didnt care too much about that. 

Hanging in the toy nook!  I am going to get something to put the chalk in so it's right next to the board but still looking for a good idea.  Also for his magnet letters and numbers!  I'm also excited about this magnet board because it gets all those little magnets off my fridge!  They are just thin enough to easily slide unerneath the fridge so of course that was one of Cadens favorite games to sit there and do his "humming" and slide them under the fridge!  And after seeing me use the handle of a mixing spoon to slide them all out he would go get a spoon from the drawer and try to do the same! silly boy.  :)

Notice those tap lights on the wall?  I got them at wal-mart, a pack of 4 for $4.00.  It came with batteries too. It takes two double AA batteries per light.  Sounds great right?! NO.  they are not.  They dont give off much light at all and the batteries dont last long.  These do not stick to the wall so they are hanging on little nails. So Caden easily takes them off the wall and runs around playing with them! haha. That was a FAIL! 

No worries though I purchased a stick up bulb from amazon that should be coming any day now! Only $7.00 with shipping! I'll post about that once I get it up. 

Close up with some magnets :)

We have not played with chalk on it yet.  I kind of want to wait until I have a place for them to stay before we play so he will know where they belong.  Ive seen and have friends that use the shoe organizers that hang on the back of the closet for storage so I think that will be our plan! 

I also would like to paint the room.  Probably the same color as my kitchen.  It's yellow so it will be very fun and cheerful! 

Will keep you posted as I get this space set up!

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