Okay, you could paint an entire wall in your office or kitchen with blackboard paint, but do you really want to make that commitment? And sure, you can write notes on a blackboard wall, but what about those business and appointment cards you accumulate, where do you stick those? Here’s a recent project that takes care of both of these problems.
How we made our new multi-tasking message center:
First, we cut a piece of 3/4″ MDF down13″ x 24″. MWT then used his router to put a beveled edge around the whole thing, which wasn’t necessary but did put a nice finish to it.
Also not necessary, but very convenient, MWT plowed a little trough in a bit of scrape MDF that he glued to the bottom of the chalkboard to hold chalk and eraser.
Next, I shot everything with chalkboard paint.
After that, I used a leftover piece of flashing–which you can find sold on a roll at any hardware store for next to nothing–to make a place for magnets. Using a flat nosed plier, I bent the cut edges (there will only be two) of the flashing back and then, using the pliers, flattened them. To get them really flat, I banged them down with a hammer. The reason I bent back the edges was 1. to create a finished look and 2. the cut edges of flashing are VERY SHARP, so bending them back eliminated that razor sharp edge. Also, it should go without saying that when handling flashing, you should wear protective gloves. ALSO, there are other alternatives to flashing; some art supply stores carry tin, which would be much easier–and probably safer–to work with.
After I finished with my flashing, we nailed it to the top part of the blackboard.
I then ripped the blossoms off some silk flowers I bought at the craft store and glued magnets to the back of them. I also bought a regular-sized eraser at the office supply store and, using a utility knife, cut it down the center to make it skinny enough to fit on the chalkboard shelf.
And finally, our multi-tasking message center.
