Homemade Magnetic Memory Boards
- A permanent location on a wall or door is easy to make with a few coats of magnetic paint, available at most hardware or home improvement stores. You can be as simple or creative as you like with the paint. It goes on in layers as a primer, so you can paint over it to match your walls, add stenciled designs, put a picture frame around it, or just remember what part of the wall is magnetized. You can also coat furniture and cabinet doors with magnetic paint, allowing household magnets to stick on places other than the refrigerator door. In general, the charge on magnetic paint is weak enough to be safe around most electronics and household wiring. Nonetheless, it always pays to be cautious when dealing with magnetism.
- Several options are available if you wish to create a portable magnetic memory board. You can start with a flat metal object, stretch cloth over it, and use magnets to hold notes and photos. Hang your contraption as you would a picture and move as needed to take advantage of its portability.
Another technique is to take a large refrigerator ad made from flexible magnetic sheets, and an empty 5-inch by 7-inch photo frame. Take off the cardboard back and glue the refrigerator ad face down on the cardboard. Once you put the frame back together, you will have a magnetized square you can hang anywhere in the house. The same technique works with larger frames. Simply glue more refrigerator ads to the cardboard, or buy magnetic sheets from a craft store and cut to shape. - While magnets may be safer than thumbtacks in many situations, it is inadvisable to use a magnetic memory board in an environment with babies and small children. Swallowing magnets may have serious repercussions, and other small items associated with memo boards may pose dangers as well.
