DIY Shabby Chic Magnetic Memo Board

8:51 AM

We always seem to have loose papers flying around the kitchen that need a place to live. Instead of piling them up in an unappealing basket on the counter or stuffing them in a drawer, I decided to make my own magnetic memo board. It also ads a nice flare to the kitchen. You could use yours as a photo/memo board, in the living room, dining room or anywhere else in the house though.

Materials

2' x 4' x 8' board
Wood stain in your choice of color
Square tin ceiling tile (I bought mine at Hobby Lobby)
Acrylic paint for the ceiling tile
Paintbrush
800 grit sand paper
Buttons, small ceramic tiles or other small items to use as the magnets
Small round high strength black magnets (at the craft store)

Step 1:

Cut a 2' x 4' x 8' board into five 16" long pieces. These should all be as even as possible, but if some come out longer or shorter than the others, it will still work out well so don't stress.

Step 2:

Paint the five 16" long pieces of wood with the wood stain color of your choice. I chose a dark cherry color, but you could go for a lighter look if you want. Allow the stain to dry completely.

Step 3:

Paint You tin ceiling tile in the acrylic paint color of your choice. You may need two coats of this depending on the color you pick. The picture above shows a tin tile before it is painted.

Step 4:

Rough up the paint in different areas of the ceiling tile with 800 grit sandpaper to give it a distressed look once the paint is dry.

Step 5:

Gather together small items you want to use as the magnets on your board. These can be buttons, scrapbook embellishments or anything else you happen to have. I chose small ceramic tiles that had a Victorian type look to them. Glue a small round magnet to the back of each item. I used super glue, but you could use gorilla or other craft glue if you choose. I made a total of 6 magnets for my board.

Step 6:

Fasten the five wood boards together. You can use a wood glue or in my case, we pre-drilled holes and then screwed them together from the back. Wood glue with a clamp to hold the boards together until they dry would be the best option if you are not handy with tools though.

Step 7:

Attach the painted tin ceiling tile to the wood block. We attached ours with two screws. One in the upper left corner and one in the lower right. I then painted over them with the acrylic paint to make them less noticeable. Again, you can use a craft glue if you would like.

Step 8:

Place your board in the location of your choosing and enjoy! For now, ours is arranged on the counter, but we will be hanging it on the wall later. When going to hang this DIY magnetic memo board though, you need to use anchors for your screws since the board is so heavy.

Kathleen

Kathleen is a homeschooling mom of four boys with a serious case of the Wanderlust bug. Her love of travel extends to her children, and has resulted in the family visiting 48 states to date, and traveling nearly a third of the year. She is the owner of LifeWith4Boys.com where you will find information on Family Travel, recipes, reviews, lifestyle and more.