DIY Magnet Board | Easy & Inexpensive

by Louise Eason

A few months ago, I trashed my daughter's double sided easel. Our 4-year-old used a Sharpie on the white board and I tried everything to get it out, but nothing worked.

I knew they missed playing with their magnets, but I didn't want to purchase another bulky easel. They take up too much space!

So I turned to Pinterest to see what space saving ideas I could find. The first thing that popped up were tons of posts about oil pan magnet boards. At first I was super excited about the idea, but I didn't quite realize how big an oil pan was.

I went to my local Auto Zone and realized this thing was huge! It's was an affordable option but where the heck was I going to mount it?

Then a lightbulb went off! "Why don't you just use a baking sheet Louise?" I went to my local discount store and purchased a 3 pack of baking sheets for $8. (If you want a cheaper alternative, Dollar Tree has baking sheets, but they're much smaller than the oversized pan we used.)

I decided to mount it on the side of an Ikea storage shelf we have in our playroom. It's low enough for my 1 and 4-year old to both reach, and it takes up minimal space.

DIY Magnet Board

To attach it to the shelf, I used four command strips in each corner. They have a pretty sturdy hold and I didn't need to drill holes into anything.

I purchased these magnets from Amazon and they work perfectly. The letters do appear larger than they actually look in person, so keep that in mind for your smaller babies. I think they're the perfect size for the pan we used; they'll allow our preschooler room to arrange her name and sight words easily.
So, if you're a mom who's looking for an inexpensive way to keep your little ones engaged, I highly recommend you give this a try. If you don't want to use letters, there are tons of shapes, animals and wooden magnets online that your kids will love.
 

Let me know if you give this a try!

 

XOXO

Louise

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