Magnetic Wall Giraffe

Get Your Image onto the Wall: First look online or in coloring books to find a silhouette appropriate for your project. Try googling terms such as “clip art”, “outline”, or “silhouette”. Next, track down a projector, which was by far the most difficult part of this project. I eventually found a friend who borrowed one from work for a night but local schools or libraries may also have them available for loan. Once you have the projector use it to put your image up onto the wall and trace it.

Apply Magnetic Primer: Use the sample kit roller to apply at least 3 thin coats of the magnetic primer, waiting 30 minutes or more between coats to allow them to dry. (I used the recommended 3 coats of primer and my magnets stick fine but a few more coats probably wouldn’t have hurt and I had plenty left over at the end of the project.) The roller will provide the smoothest application of the primer but it is OK to use small paint brushes to cover areas the roller doesn’t fit in. I used a few different brush sizes to get this part done.

Apply Top Coat of Paint: Using the same tools you used to prime, apply as many coats of latex paint as it takes to adequately cover the black primer. I used Lowe’s Zero VOC Olympic Premium Paint in Tangerine and it took about 3 coats.

Make Magnetic Letters: I found wooden letters at my local craft store for about $4 for the package. There are tons of letter options out there but I liked these because they were inexpensive and big enough not to be a choking hazard for my 18 month old. I bought a roll of adhesive back magnetic strip at the same store and then cut 3 to 4 small pieces of the strip and applied them to the back of each letter.

Show Your Little Ones How it Works: Depending on the age of your children, you can use the letters to practice the ABCs, spell out words, or just as decoration.

For complete pictures see: http://www.modernparentsmessykids.com/20…