Chalkboard Magnets Craft

From Sherri Osborn, former About.com Guide

I love making my own jam... I reuse the canning jars from year to year but you are not supposed to reuse the flat lids. I usually save the used ones mainly because it didn't feel right to throw them away, but also because I figured I could use them in different crafts. I was right! I grabbed a handful of the lids and my paint and had some fun.

• Age Guideline: 6 Years and Up
• Time Required: 60 minutes (Does not include drying time)

The above age and time guidelines are estimates. This project can be modified to suit other ages and may take more or less time depending on your circumstances.

Materials Needed:

• Old Canning Jar Lids (compare prices)
• Spray Paint Primer (compare prices)
• Chalkboard Spray Paint (compare prices)
• Magnets
• Strong Glue
• Small Piece of Felt (to use as an eraser)
• Chalk (compare prices)
• Newspaper (Use to cover your work surface)

Instructions to Make Chalkboard Magnets:

Make sure your canning jar lids are clean and dry. Cover your work area with newspaper and make sure you work in a well ventilated area. Set your lids on the newspaper and start spraying them with primer. Spray the lids with several thin layers of primer. let the primer dry completely.

Once the primer is dry, use several thin coats of chalkboard paint to cover the lids. Wait until one layer is dry to the touch before adding another. Let the chalkboard paint cure for as long as the paint can says. Make sure you condition the chalkboard paint by rubbing the side of a stick of chalk over it and then wiping it off.

Use the strong glue to attach a magnet to the back of each canning jar lid (I originally used hot glue but sometimes it didn't want to stick the the metal). Once the glue is dry, you can stick them to a magnetic surface and use to write messages and even draw small pictures.