AE Update | A New Home For The Advent Boxes
Some of you might remember these AdventBoxes I put together back in 2007 (inspired by a project I'd seen in Martha Stewart's Kids magazine).
For the last couple of weeks I've been working on a project (with a bunch of help from Chris) to paint the one long wall in our laundry room with both magnetic + chalkboard paint. I thought this would be a cool spot for this Advent calendar and a cool place for Anna (and Simon) to use chalk or play with other magnets (like this
Here's a couple before photos of our laundry room (it's right off the kitchen):
I stripped off the wallpaper border and then we got down to business of painting the magnetic paint first.
A couple of coats later we added a couple coats of chalkboard paint (they were just about the same color) and called it good.
To get the boxes to "stick" to the wall I used magnetic tape from Michael's. I used 2-4 strips per box. I put a couple strips on before I could tell that the adhesive on the magnetic strips needed a bit more reinforcement so I used red line tape to stick the tape to the back of the boxes.
So far they seem to be sticking ok. I'm not planning to put anything heavy inside the boxes and anticipate that they will get re-arranged and moved around throughout the month.
Now if I could just change up the floors...
She seemed to like it.
He definitely liked it.
Comments
Sign in or sign up to comment.
86 comments
I love love this Ali....
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
aww wow. This is so great. I wish I had my own house (i rent) so I could do this :)
Replies
You can! Well I suppose you can't paint the wall but you can have the advent calendar. I made one just like it but I used a cork board. Just make the boxes and then stick them to the cork board by pinning the box (on the inside) with a push pin!
When I was renting I wanted to do something similar so I bought a sheet of thin wood that we screwed into the wall and painted!! Just removed it and filled the holes when time to move. (And the magnetic chalkboard is now in the new playroom!)
And I love the boxes. So cute!
@Beke: you could use the 3M Command Strips to hold the boxes in place. They are *perfect* for hanging things temporarily.
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Funny to read this as I'm madly trying to type up my advent calendar inserts! I love that you can move the boxes around but would be a little scared that the kids would think it's ok to draw on other walls. Sometimes I think that little voice in my head makes me a less fun Mum!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Great idea! I love it!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
What a fabulous idea! I would love to do something like this...and have a laundry room too! :)
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
It's wonderful!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
ps...i think the floor tiles work really well with the new wall colour :)
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Awesome!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Wow, this turned out so well. Lucky you having such a well placed laundry room! Great idea :)
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Awesome, Ali! I'm so glad that you found somewhere for these in your new home. And thank you - you've just reminded me to get my advent calendar out of the loft :)
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
What a great idea! I love that it brings the Advent fun into the rest of the year.
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Very cool! What a neat way to say "its ok to create"!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
I love these paints...once we get our house I was planning on painting a part pf my sons wall in his room so he can be creative! love the magnets for the boxes!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Hi Ali,
I love the paint job. I have a can of chalkboard paint untouched downstairs and had planned to do a wall in my laundry room too, just never found the time, once again you've inspired me!
If you want a quick fix for the laundry room floor, try painting that too. We painted our main bathroom linoleum floor, using porch paint. It's durable and made a huge difference. We figured if we messed it up we would have to change it anyway, because it was ugly to begin with.
I checked it out online and there are other time consuming steps that can be done too, like stripping the wax and base coats and top coats, etc. However, our paint store guy said to use the 2 coats of porch paint and your done. A year later it hasn't chipped or faded or worn at all and we are still happy with the results. We went from a very stained grey, dated linoleum, to a deep dark chocolate brown. The downside is that porch paint can not be tinted to the exact color you want, but they do have a good selection.
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Love this Ali!
Replies
I needed to put you that lltite note in order to say thank you over again with your pleasant pointers you have documented here. It's really wonderfully open-handed of you to offer unreservedly what a few people could possibly have offered as an e-book to earn some dough on their own, even more so seeing that you could possibly have tried it in case you decided. The tactics additionally worked to become a great way to know that many people have the identical dreams just as my very own to understand a good deal more around this problem. I'm certain there are numerous more enjoyable occasions up front for individuals that take a look at your site.
Sign in or sign up to reply.
what a great idea! If I were closer I'd come help you lay ceramic or wood floors. It's really not as daunting as it seems. I think once you layed your own wood floor in there your whole house would be hardwood ;)
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Looks great Ali, and a great idea! We had the exact same floor in this house when we moved in (with country blue matching wallpaper with little yellow flowers on it.) I ignored it as long as I could, but about 2 years ago I got to cover it up with wood laminate. Love it!
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Such a cool idea.
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Great idea thanks
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.
Looks wonderful...my daughter would like to paint one wall in her room like that. Looks great. I never "KNEW" there was magnetic paint even out there...mmmmmmmmmmmm. Hardwood floors or big slate natural earth looking tiles would be oh so yummy in your kitchen and into laundry room. MMM Love to decorate, I could pop over and help with that:)
Replies
Sign in or sign up to reply.