Little Peanut spent a lot of time in the kitchen at our old house (due to lack of play space) and we invested in quite a few magnetic toys to keep her entertained. The new basement playroom has plenty of room but no magnetic surfaces. Inspired by this popular Pinterest pin I set out to find something similar and came up with this:

With little luck finding the right oil pan I stopped by Home Depot and asked for metal sheets. For some reason I kept thinking they came as large as plywood and wasn’t sure how I’d cut it down (much less bring it home!), but sure enough they come in nice manageable sizes in the plumbing section. I got the largest one I saw – 24×36 inches for $10.

Once home I realized we’d have to cover the edges to prevent little fingers from getting cut. First I thought about duct taping around the edges and then covering with fabric but that idea was scratched when wasn’t sure how to make the fabric taut. Then one day (about a month later!) while browsing Michaels I saw their large poster frames and it hit me- duh, frame it! Of course I had to make an additional trip since I didn’t know the exact dimensions of the metal sheet. There are quite a few styles to choose from but I went with the basic Michaels frame – $15 on sale!

I brought it home and took out the glass. If you’re careful you can remove it with out breaking it. There is a little double sided tape on all 4 sides to hold the glass on. You guessed it, I was not careful, it broke all over and startled both kids and hubby! I had no plans for the glass but it would have been nice to keep for later. The metal sheet turned out to be a wee too big for the frame but a pair of decent scissors fixed that problem. Less then 1/4 inch was cut off the width and height. It is easy to cut, just don’t use the good scissors!

It still needs to be hung but I’m thinking it might survive propped up as long as they don’t get too rough with it. It was also intended for the Little Peanut but the Little Guy seems to be enjoying it more (I guess he is the right age for the toys we have. Oh and don’t mind the little scar on his nose. He’s been feverishly trying to crawl, got a little rambunctious and bumped his nose on the ground. Good news is he is now crawling, bad news is he is now crawling. Hah! )

Hours of fun for under $25!

One more DIY playroom accessory crossed of the list. Infinite amount more to go.