Shop Small Love: Little Beasties Shop + A DIY Magnet Board

If you weren't already aware, I am a HUGE advocate for shopping small.  There are so many amazing small handmade businesses out there, many of which are run by super talented mamas, that offer a wide array of high quality products, and I love supporting them.

One of our favorite new small business discoveries is Little Beasties Shop.  Jess, the owner, makes the sweetest handmade plush toys out of fabric and felt. Her work is incredible, and her creativity is second to none... just check out this awesome Felt Garden Set.

Recently, Jess was kind enough to send over a set of her Magnetic Alphabet Letters, which naturally were a huge hit with Max and Ella!  

The letters are sewn using super soft and bright colored (our favorite) flannel fabric, they are slightly plush, and there are magnets inside, making them perfect to use on your refrigerator, or any magnetic surface.  Their size is perfect for little hands, and we had so much fun practicing our ABC's and spelling out words while we played with them.

The quality of these letters is impressive, and I could instantly tell that they were durable enough to withstand the roughness of toddlers/little ones, so I know they are a toy that we will have around for a long time.

Seeing as our refrigerator is stainless steel... aka non-magnetic, our amazing new set of letters from Little Beasties Shop got me to thinking about adding a decent sized magnet board to our playroom.

M&E received a set of magnetic animals for Christmas, and now this set of alphabet letters, so I just knew a magnet board would be the perfect way to display and play with our new toys.

I originally considered using magnetic paint to make a board that could also serve as a chalkboard, but after reading numerous reviews, the magnetic paint sounded like it might be more trouble than it was worth, so I enlisted my husband to help me, and we came up with a much, much easier DIY project.

I purchased the materials at Home Depot and Michael's (using a coupon), and have linked them below.  The entire project cost just over $25.

If you're interested in making a 24"x 36" magnet board like the one pictured in this post, you will need the following materials:

24 inch x 36 inch galvanized steel sheet

24 inch x 36 inch frame (I purchased this one on white, using a 40% off coupon)

To make the magnet board, we simply removed the cardboard backing from the frame, as well as the layer of plastic that would normally cover the photo/poster going into the frame.  We then used the cardboard backing as a template, and using a marker, we marked what would need to be trimmed from the metal sheet, in order for it to fit in the frame.  It was less than 1/4 inch that needed to be trimmed from both the length and width, and the metal was easy to cut, using just a pair of kitchen scissors.

Then we popped the metal sheet into the frame, and replaced the cardboard backing... and that was it!

A super fun addition to our playroom, and the perfect place to play with our alphabet letters from Little Beasties Shop!

Playroom Inspiration

pom pom pillow | striped pillow | table | chairs

felt ball garland | pouf | paint color (North Star)

storage baskets | shelving unit

One of the main things that attracted me to our new house when I first stumbled across the listing, was the fact that it had a huge finished basement/rec room.  I instantly envisioned our family spending countless hours in this space, and had big plans to use it as both a family room and playroom.

The fact that I could potentially hide the disaster that results when M&E run wild in their play area, in the basement, rather than where everyone could see it, was a HUGE win in my opinion.

I had dreams of an immaculate, well decorated, main floor that featured a couch where you could no longer find puffs between the cushions, baskets full of beautiful pillows and throws vs. junk, and mess that was out of sight, out of mind.

But... as we all know... plans change.

I quickly realized that spending so much time in the basement wasn't really convenient for our family, particularly me, being home with 2 (3 come April) kids all day.  The main floor of our house is where stuff gets done.  It's where our laundry room is, where I do my cooking, wash the dishes, pay the bills, and sit down to write these blog posts... So the wheels began to turn.

Many of my friends have opted to turn their formal dining rooms into playrooms.  They felt that the space could be better utilized that way, and would be a great room for their little ones to play in, while they could tend to the long list of chores around the house and still keep a close eye on them.

I quickly began to realize this was also true for us.

As much as I love a formal dining room, the reality is, we wouldn't use one very often.  We have an eat-in kitchen, and don't currently live near many of our friends and family, so using the room in this way just makes more sense for us.

Last week, we began the painting portion of this "makeover", and over time I have been making some small purchases in terms of decor.  I'm planning on sharing the "after" photos with you all sometime in the next week or so, but in the meantime, I thought I'd share a little mood board with you all.

The vision for this room includes neutral walls (North Star), black and white, pops of color, and using the kid's own artwork as decor.  A very small section of the room will hold my desk, so I can work on things for my Etsy shop and the blog, while the kids play beside me, and my hope is that in the future I will be able to tend to the new baby while Max and Ella enjoy their toys nearby.

I can't wait to show you the end result, but for now it's bye bye burgundy walls, and hello operation modern playroom.  Stay Tuned.