Our Do It Yourself Message Board

As I mentioned in our last post, James and I have been working on a number of projects around the house. This first one we want to share is one I have been after James to work on for months! Once we actually got started it only took a few hours to complete. I've always wanted a chalk board or pin board of some kind and we happen to have the perfect stretch of open wall in the small hallway off our kitchen that leads to the powder room and laundry room. We even have a wall sconce that I've always kind of felt looked pretty lonely hanging on the wall and was just pleading for us to hang something under it. I scoped out a few message boards (here and here) and realized pretty quickly that spending over $100 on something like that was a definite no-go for us. So, we did what we usually do...we made it ourselves instead! I think it turned out pretty awesome. I can't wait to fill out the "honey do" list on there. =)

Material List:
2' x 3' plywood
trim board - we needed about 12' total
cork board
fabric to cover cork board (optional)
wood glue
spray adhesive
chalkboard paint
magnetic primer to make chalkboard magnetic (optional)
wood filler
water based paint to paint frame
picture frame kit (for attaching to the wall)
cabinet pulls to hold chalk (optional)

Equipment:
Table saw (other kinds of saws would probably work too)
Staple gun
Paint brush

James did most of the handy work because being pregnant means I have to stay away from paint (FYI magnetic paint is not water based). The message board is pretty big - 2' x 3'. The first step was to paint several coats of magnetic paint on the plywood followed by several coats of chalkboard paint.  James then measured out the trim for the frame and cut corner pieces at 45 degree angles. He used a staple gun to attach the trim to the plywood. We filled in the holes with wood filler and then painted the frame white using water based paint. The upper portion of the message board is cork. We glued fabric to the cork using spray adhesive and made sure the fabric covered cork board fit tight into the wood frame before gluing it into place and securing the last piece of trim underneath the cork. The last step was to attach two cabinet pulls upside down to hold the eraser and chalk.

I found a wire mail holder at HomeGoods last weekend for $18 and we hung it next to the message board. So far it has helped to keep the mail in order and it will be great to hang holiday cards and baby pictures. So there you go. I love the way it turned out and not only is it practical, but it also livens up our little hallway. What do you think? Oh, and for those who were wondering, it cost us about $30 in supplies to make.