Chores For Hire- Magnet Board

I'm a mean mom...I do not believe in paying my kids to do chores that contribute to our every day living. BUT, I do believe in giving them an opportunity to learn the power of working hard and earning money when they want to contribute in an extra way. For instance, my 14 year old son will probably not have many chances to babysit to earn money, but my daughter will.

Keeping track of what needs to be done, and how much I am willing to pay for said chore can be done many ways, but I think this idea is really cute and being that we can hang it on the wall will add to our decor, that is always a bonus. And if you haven't noticed, I don't hang things on the wall unless it is decorative.

First things first. We must give credit where credit is due. Here is the source of my inspiration for the magnet board:

Source: Surviving Fatherhood

Magnet boards are not the easiest to find. And when you do, they are expensive and plain (in my experience). This board has been trimmed out, detailed and I love it! I only wanted one half this size for the craft group so I will give you the dimensions of mine. If you want the larger one, he has fabulously detailed instructions for this larger size, and you should cut your boards to his specs.

When you buy the supplies for this smaller magnet board, you will be able to make 2 magnet boards with them (except you will need 2 pieces of crown, and another poplar backing):

• 1/8" Poplar board measuring 23" x 33"
• 1-1x4x8  (cut 2-23.5" pieces for header and footer)
• 1-1x3x8 (cut 2-27.5" pieces for upper and lower sills)
• 1-8 foot piece baseboard or door casing that is 3.25" wide (cut 2-17" pieces for side trim)
• 1-8 foot piece crown moulding (cut 2 pieces along top edge for crown under sills, and 4-1.5" end caps) PLEASE READ THIS IF YOU ARE NEW TO CUTTING CROWN MOULDING.
• 1-8 foot piece half round bead moulding (cut 2 strips to line lower edge of header-both edges need a back 45 degree angle, and 4- 0.75" pieces back cut for the end caps. Cut strips so inside edge measure 23.5")
• 1-24x36" inch piece sheet metal (cut in half to measure 18"x 24")
• 2 keyhole fasteners (one board)

Rather than glue my magnet board to the wall, I centered the sheet metal on the poplar backing, and glued it to the poplar board so I could hang it with the keyhole hangers.

Once you are ready to begin your project click here and look at his very thorough instructions! (there is no need to reinvent the wheel by writing another set, right?) THEN, you can cut your supplies.

Here it is right before I puttied the holes (I love the DAP lightweight spackling compound). Then I lightly sanded it. I taped off the inside metal (as shown) and painted! 

Have fun and read the Chores For Hire-Pocket and Cards post for what I did next.