Magnetic Chalkboard Project Good Times

Here's the pic of the magnetic chalkboard frame I showed you yesterday. Now here are all good fun details.

It all started with feeling like I really needed a chalkboard in my life and I wanted one on the side of my frig.

Then I found this 24x36 inch frame I found at Hobby Lobby for a very wonderful 80% off.

So that I only had to pay this for it, and it fit the side of my frig perfecto.

So I got some chalkboard paint at Hobby Lobby (with coupon) and borrowed brother-in-law's industrial stapler.

I wanted the chalkboard to be magnetic like my frig, so I got a sheet of metal from the plumbing section of Lowes - just happens to come in a 24x36 inch sheet for about $10 dollars - woohoo! I also got three yardsticks to hold it in place.

After painting the sheet metal with several coats, I laid it in the frame and stapled the rulers down to the back.

Like so.

Voila!

So, my potentially good idea was to attach the frame to my frig with these handy command strips. So I bought the large ones, used all four and got it up there.

Here is the only picture I have of it as it - a bad picture, quickly taken late at night - but you get the idea of the nifty-ness.

But about 24 hours later, we heard a resounding crash BOOM.

It was very sad. I was tempted to try again, but I hate to waste another $4+ dollars to buy more strips as they are not reusable.

So the board ended up here, and I like it, but I had other plans for here and now my frig looks a bit bare and neglected. Ah well, I'll probably look at it more in this place...and a helpful reminder or two on it will be good for me to see often :)

Additional notes and disclaimers:

*Total cost of project: $31

*Really wanted green chalk paint but Hobby Lobby didn't carry it. Thought I'd checked Michael's but later saw that they do indeed have it. And maybe it was just my bottle but I did not like using this paint - it kept dripping all over the place.

*The rulers were probably not the best idea. I was really excited about them being the perfect length (36inches - no saw necessary!), but the sheet metal wobbles a little bit - some kind-of board? on back would maybe stabilize it better?

* And okay, the Command strips said clean surfaces with rubbing alcohol, but I didn't have any so I used....hand sanitizer. I figured it has alcohol in it, right?? Was this my downfall? ;)

*For some reason the phrase "haste makes waste" kept running through my head through this whole project - perhaps a little more thinking and little less hurry-make-it-and-hang-it! might have been helpful...meh.

*Oh, and definitely rough up your sheet metal before you paint it...did I do this? Hmmm. So yes, I'll be revisiting this magnetic chalkboard project. Good grief.

*The "take me here quick, please note" is a hint for my sweetheart that I want to go to the new creperie that just opened in town "Panache". I haven't been yet, but the menu and fliers have already completely won me over.

Whew, if you made it all they way down here to you are to be commended. :)

And if you decide to tackle this goodtimes project, you might like to whip out a few of these to use on it. :)