Magnetic Wall for Kid’s Art Display

There are a billion different ways to create a place for kid’s art.  One of the billion ways that was overwhelming me was our kitchen refrigerator.  Kayla loves art and also has a love language of receiving gifts.  For those of you who read The 5 Love Languages (<—EXCELLENT BOOK) , you know that often times you give love the way you like to receive it.  So my daughter, no joke, gives my husband and I at least 10 little gifts a day.  Sometimes it is a bite of her treat and most oftentimes, it is a piece she drew or painted.  While I want to encourage her artistic ability and her love to give and receive gifts, my refrigerator was starting to look like an advertising bulletin board.  So I decided to make a blank wall in their playroom a magnetic wall to display art.

Supplies:

Rust-Oleum Magnetic Wall Paint (found at Lowes for $21.98)

1†x 3†( I used 24’ of it)

Kreg Jig and pockethole screws

stain (I used Minwax’s English Chestnut)

Pre-Wood Conditioner

Miter Saw

Tape Measure and Pencil

Level

Small nap Roller

paint tray

3M Scotch Plastic Tape with Film

Brad nailer with air compressor

 

1.  I went to Lowes and purchased four 8’ pieces of 1†x 3â€.  With my miter saw I cut those down to 36â€.  I decided to butt the joint rather than miter them but you could do either.

2.  It was way easier to make a frame first than to try and decide perfect placement on the wall.  I used my Kreg Jig to join the piece together at the corners to create the frame.  Below is Isaac showing the back of the frame with the pocket holes.

2.  I then measured the wall and marked the inner and outer edge of where I wanted the frame to go.  I placed my tape in between those measurements.

3.  With a small nap roller I rolled on 6 coats of the magnetic paint over the course of two days.  Magnetic plaint takes ALOT of coats to actually make magnetic.  So I just used the whole quart.

4.  Then I primed it and put two coats of my wall paint color over that.  I actually could have used another coat of wall paint but was afraid to lessen the strength of the magnetic paint.

5.  Then I used my brad nailer and a level to attach my frames to the wall.  Brad nails leave such a small hole that I didn’t bother to fill it.

Kayla was super excited for the wall.  She immediately ran to the paper holder and started making pictures to display. Me-oh-my, it isn’t going to take her long to fill up both frames I am sure.

Tip #1: I have found magnetic tape like the ProMAG Magnetic Tape or the magnetic squares work the best on the back of paper.  Heavy duty magnets don’t seem to work as well.

Tip#2: Make sure to cover the bottom of the wall with some Scotch Blue tape with film or similar.  Tiny magnetic particles tend to fly off the roller and stick to baseboards and the wall below.

Do you want more Lowe’s Creative Ideas?  Check out this month’s Lowes Creative Idea magazine, available in store or by mail and available on your Iphone or Ipad.

Disclosure:  This post was on behalf of Lowes.  They provided a gift card for this project for me to create some home decor.  All opinions are mine and I do have a few Amazon links in there as well, should you decide to purchase.