Hey friends!

As many of you know, one of our very favorite things to do is to find an old item, ‘shanty’ it up a bit, and give it a whole new life.  It really is what started our whole site.  I always like keeping my eyes out for old frames!  There are so many fun ways to revamp an old frame.  I recently gave this one a makeover for my little girl’s room!  I turned it into a magnetic photo and memo board.  Here is how it turned out…

DIY Magnetic Board

How fun is that??  This is a quick and super easy project!  Let’s get started!

List of Supplies!

Empty frame

1 sheet of cardboard (size of frame or larger)

1 sheet of galvanized metal (plumbing section at Lowe’s)

fabric

spray paint

spray adhesive

hot glue gun

1×3 wood scraps (optional to make your frame larger)

Start with a cheap frame like this sad guy below.  This one actually had artwork in it too… Bad.

Thrift Store Frame

Now, I really wanted to beef this frame up a bit, so I decided to add some wood to it.  I used my miter saw for this part, but a cheap hand saw and  miter box from the hardware store work great as well!

Miter Saw

No matter what saw you choose to use, make sure you have your safety gear on!

We get asked all the time about what safety gear we wear and recommend! Our favorite brand is 3M™ TEKK Protection™!

Two of my personal favorite items that I am wearing here are the Holmes WorkWear Safety glassesand the Digital WorkTunes Hearing Protectors.   Safety is always #1 with us no matter how small the project!  You may have  a wonderful piece you created, but if you can’t see it or hear your kids tell you how much they love it, it kind of takes all the fun out of it!  Am I right?  So… Protect yourself guys!

I even like to keep these hanging right by my saw so I never forget them!

Digital WorkTunes Hearing Protector

I started my making all my cuts!  I used scrap 1×3 for this frame which you can also purchase really cheap!   I measured these from short point to short point to get the dimensions I needed.  I measured at 1″ from the outer edge of my existing frame. I started with these two sides…

How to make a fabric magnet board

I used my cordless brad nailer and wood glue to attach them.

How to make a magnet board

I keep my work glasses on the entire time I am building any project.  These are great because they have attached hearing protectors that you can just push in really quick for times when you need them like this!

Holmes Workwear Glasses

Love them!

I measured short point to short point again to get the measurements of my last two boards.  I attached them the same way.

wood frame

That’s it for the frame!  I gave the whole thing a coat of Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch spray paint in Summer Squash.

While that was drying, I started on the inside!

I purchased a 24×36 sheet of galvanized metal from Lowe’s.  It is in the PLUMBING section… not the roofing material.  It was around $7 for the sheet.   I have found the best way to cut this stuff is by using a sharp pair of scissors like sewing scissors.  I cut my metal sheet an inch less than the inside of my frame all around and then hot glued it down to a piece of thick cardboard like this!

Sheet metal for magnet board

Glue Sheet metal to cardboard

You can use any fabric you want on this part!  I LOVE the fabric I chose.  I found it at OnlineFabricStore.com.  The print I used is called Premier Prints Zig Zag in black. It’s cute and cheap too… My kind of fabric!

I just used my scissors to cut the fabric leaving about 1″ all around.

Making a fabric magnet board

Then, I used a bit of spray adhesive on my metal and placed it face down on the fabric like this.  Tack down your extra fabric on the back with a hot glue gun!

Hot glue fabric magnet board

Corner of Fabric Magnet Board

After my frame dried, I put the fabric covered board inside! Easy peasy!

fabric magnet board how to

My final step was hanging it on the wall.  I found a fun knob and spray painted it black.

3m Holmes Workwear Eyewear

After it dried, I attached it to her wall and used some twine to hang the frame.  Done.

Here is how it turned out!

Magnetic Board DIY

DIY Magnetic Board

Magnetic Board

Hope you love it!  This really is a fun and easy way to give any old frame a new life!

Thanks so much for stopping by guys!  I would love for you to pin and share my project below! 🙂

Make sure to check out the 3M DIY website, which is a community for DIYers to create, share, prepare and learn about doing home improvement projects right and doing them safely!

You can also follow 3M DIY on Facebook and follow 3M DIY on Twitter for fun updates and project inspiration!

This post is a collaboration with 3M™ TEKK Protection™ Brand, but all words, opinions and ideas are all mine!

3m tekk protection, 3m tekk, safety, respirator, tekk protection, safety projects

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19 Comments

  1. That is a super project! Do you know if the magnets would still stick if you added a panel of glass over the magnetic board? It seems like that would be easier to keep clean and also double as a dry-erase board.

    1. ?????????YAY!!! So excited with the way mine looks! I built this and I’m super thankful it turned out so well! I used the plans at www. WoodworkPlans.info to build mine – I highly recommend you visit that website and check their plans out too. They are detailed and super easy to read and understand unlike several others I found online. The amount of plans there is mind-boggling… there’s like 16,000 plans or something like that for tons of different projects. Definitely enough to keep me busy with projects for many more years to come haha

      Go to www. WoodworkPlans.info – click the pink link above for some more plans! Best of luck on your building adventures!

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  2. I love this memo board! I am in the process of making it. Where do you find your knobs that you have used to hang this memo board and the yellow one with twine you did prior? LOVE THIS SITE!!!

  3. So so cute! I love the colors! What is the paint color that you used in her room? Thanks for the inspiration ; )

  4. I love this project but your shoes and great nails make your outfit! Thanks for another great idea!

  5. Looks fabulous. I must do this for my daughter’s room. In fact, I must do everything that you’ve made so far for this room:) Did you make the letter “E” as well?

    1. Magnets-ikea! The twine I wrapped through some D-rings on the back of the frame. The E…. Wish I could say I did that too! It was a gift my MIL found for her in Lubbock. Hope this all helps!!