Pottery Barn art boards for a fraction of the price!
Home Organization, Kid-Friendly Solutions, Kid Bedrooms, Papers & Bills March 23rd, 2006
I always loved those art boards you see in the Pottery Barn Kids magazine. They’re so simple and useful. However, at $30 each they were a little out of my range. Consequently, I decided to make my own.
I bought a pre-painted white, 8-foot piece of molding from Home Depot. I cut it into three equal sections and painted each with acrylic paint (I did two coats). Then I sprayed them with clear gloss to protect the finish.
I bought big magnetic clips from WalMart and popped out the magnets. Next, I used a very short screw to attach the clips to the board. I imagine you could also leave the magnets in and use a very strong super glue to attach them. I used 3M’s ‘command adhesive’ picture hangers to attach them to the wall (you can find those at WalMart too, in hardware next to the hooks).
For about $12 I made three of these handy little art boards and it they were finished in less than a day. My kids love having a place to stash their latest pieces and I love having my fridge back. Just thought I’d pass it on.
November 9th, 2006 at 2:23 am
IKEA sells a great little magnetic strip similar to this for under $3. They are silver but could be painted to match your decor. Thanks for all the great tips!
August 11th, 2007 at 11:33 am
I have a similar system and take it one step further. I also like binders and have a Vol. 1 and a Vol. 2 Kids Art book. After a timely display on my kitchen wall (about 2 weeks) the kids choose any special pictures and we put them in the binder with a little journal entry. I keep the binders with our scrapbooks.
May 27th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
This is similar to what I have done for my son’s art work. I got some wooden pegs ($2 FOR 20) and some nice paper, I then cut the paper to size and glued it to one side of the wooden peg. To attach the pegs to the wall i cut some 3m strips in half length ways. All up it cost less then $7.00 and I think it looks great.
Lana