Kitchen Shelving Transformation – The Magnetic Message Board

Time for the next kitchen shelving transformation project! This was one of my favourite blog projects so far and I will definitely make another one in the future.

Long story short, I rescued this tray from a ‘toss or donate’ pile a few weeks ago.

The first thing I saw was the olive green, the second thing I saw was potential.

I was determined to incorporate the tray into my kitchen decor but the floral design just didn’t match the look I wanted.

Right around the same time, I happened to see this post on the blog Better After featuring a metal tray upcycle from The Home Project.

When I commented on Linn’s post that I was trying to decide what to do with a similar tray, she suggested that I “go for paper, or stencils and spray paint. Or why not find/make fun magnets, paint the tray in a clean color and add the magnets.”

Hmm . . .

I love paper.

I love spray paint.

I love stationery and office supplies.

Why not combine all these great things?

So . . . (you know where this is going) I spray painted it with my new favourite colour – Krylon’s Catalina Mist.

Apparently this colour is pretty elusive. If you are in Canada, have a peek in the paint section at Michael’s.  Bonus – after using a 40% off coupon it is about the same price as the “regular” colours that are widely available.

I knew that it would take many coats to cover the pattern and I wanted to make sure the paint adhered well so I sprayed it with a metal primer first.

After at least 5 coats of Catalina Mist, the pattern was still showing through. I needed the paint for another project so I decided to stop here and use another one of my decorating favourites, scrapbook paper, to cover the pattern.

I found a coordinating paper in one of my Christmas collections. I chose it because it had the number detail along the top of the paper to give it a little something extra. Next, I measured the center of the tray and cut out the corresponding circle with my Silhouette.

Then I used my spray adhesive (I love spray adhesive!) to attach the paper to the tray.

The perfect finishing touch was the cute bird magnets that I bought for less than $2.00 at HomeSense during their winter clearance.  I grabbed a bunch of different magnet and paper clip sets thinking they would make a fun gift.

(This is the most accurate representation of the tray and paper colour)

For under $10 this tray went from drab to fab and is ready to hold notes, receipts etc.

Another easy D.I.Y. project that is also a sweet reminder for me of its original owner.

We are halfway there with the kitchen shelving transformation project details (don’t forget about the mystery project!)

Thanks for reading!

I will be linking up to these great parties.

Thank you to all the amazing hosts!