Magnetic Picture frames

Well, I finally finished one of my many projects I have going on.  Well, to be honest, I finished 99% of the project.  I have been wanting to make six large magnetic pictures frames to hang in our entry.  I wanted magnetic pictures frames for many reasons.  Here are just a few:

  1)  I thought it would be different.
  2)  I wanted to be able to change the pictures throughout the year to match the season.
  3)  I didn't want to be locked in to only using pictures of a certain size and/or layout.
  4)  I also wanted to be able to display my childrens' artwork.

You can make your own frames even is you do not have a table saw!  Here is what you need to do.  First, I chose to make the overall size of the frame 20" by 22" and the size of the "mat" 14" x 16".  I decided to use 3/4" sanded plywood as the "frame" (the blue color) and backer board for the "mat" (the brown color).

Instead of buying plywood that had been cut into 24" square and cutting it myself, I discovered it was cheaper to buy a whole sheet of plywood.  I gave the nice man, Wynn, at Home Depot my dimensions and he gladly cut it for me.  I think it also helped that I had Baby M with me so he couldn't say no to a mother with a small child.  I ended up with 8 "frames" and 2 odd piece that I could still use, but they were not the same dimensions.

I then choose to use backer board that was 1/8" thick.  This will be the "mat" for the frame.  I choose this because it was light in weight.   I needed to six mats for go with me frames so I bought a whole sheet of backer board.  Again, I gave my dimensions to the nice man, Wynn, and he gladly cut it for me.  ( I did this the next day and this time I had all three boys with me so he couldn't say no!) 
I painted the plywood with Berh Premium Plus Ultra.  This is their new paint that is mixed with primer.  I then used Rust-oleum Magnetic Latex Primer for the backer board.  The directions say to use a high density foam roller, and I would highly suggest you do.  I have used a different roller with this primer on a different project and I had to sand it down.  They also suggest to 3 thin coats of the primer, and again, I would do it. (maybe even four!)

After the magnetic primer has dried, you can then paint the "mat" whatever color you choose.  However, do not use the paint with primer.  Your "mat" will not be magnetic anymore!  I found that out the hard way.
I then centered the mat on the plywood and used a nail gun with 3/8" nails to secure it. 

I would suggest that you use the silver magnets that are sometimes called super magnets for your frame.  You can find these at your local craft stores.  I have found that the black magnets that you use for other crafts just aren't strong enough.

Here's the finished product!!

My husband and I built the table above using on of Ana's plans from Knock-Off Wood.  I am not done with it yet, but will let you know when I am finished.

I hope this will inspire some of you out there!  You can customize the frame size to fit your wall.   You can also distress the frames but I decided not to this time.  Please let me know if you have any questions and/or suggestions!

Thanks!  Southern Nest