In our attempt to be "green" we love to recycle items around the house. My daughter is constantly finding creative, new uses for items. She is really into re-purposing "junk," but wishes being environmentally conscious was called being "pink."
Another benefit of reusing items is that it clears out some of the stuff jammed under our beds (AKA my storage unit). Come on, I'm sure you all have a place where you stash items that you aren't using. My beds are hiding tons of old picture frames.
I always have a surplus of frames that are not "picture perfect" or no longer match my decor. We have re-purposed several of them into dry erase boards throughout out house. I use them to help me stay organized, or at least try to remember what time I need to report for chauffeur services. Heck, I often need one just to remember what day of the week it is.
Dry erase boards also create a variety of learning opportunities for children. I use them to teach mathematics and letter formation without going though large stacks of paper. Educational activities that use dry erase boards will be headed your way soon! So, make sure you check back with Ramblings of Mama, so you don't miss some of the activities that my children love.
Turning a picture frame into a dry erase board is super easy. So lets make a dry erase board.
Materials
Picture Frame
Piece of Paper the size of your picture frame (you can collage pieces together if needed)
Fine Point Dry Erase Marker
Glass Cleaner
Paint, sticker, markers, paper, glue (to decorate frame)
Optional: Sandpaper (if you have a wood frame that needs it)
Instructions
1. Look under your bed, in the corner of your garage or on your highest shelves for an unused picture frame.
*Plastic front picture frames are more difficult to keep clean, but are nice if a young child will be regularly writing on it (I'm talking about the picture frames that have a plastic front instead of glass)
2. Remove and clean the glass/plastic (the part that would normally cover the picture). Set aside.
3. Dust/clean the picture frame. Glue and/or sand if needed.
4. Decorate the front of your frame. Cover/hide any scrapes/flaws in your frame.
Paint, cover with wrapping/scrapbook paper, apply stickers, etc.
The frame my daughter recycled had lines forming in each corner, so she covered the worse parts with gems. As you can see in the picture she couldn't stop in the corners.
5. Select a piece of paper for your dry erase board's background.
Typical backgrounds are plain white, but you could use a light color or an empty calendar.
If you do not have a piece of paper large enough to cover the "picture" area of your frame you can piece together several pieces of paper.
6. Put the picture frame together using the clean glass/plastic and your paper background.
7. Do the Happy Dance! You have created a dry erase board out of an old picture frame.
Hints when using your Dry Erase Board
A small cut up piece of an old cotton shirt works great to clean your board
White Board Cleaner helps keep a plastic front clean
Frames with a plastic front should be wiped clean often
Let's clear out the area under your beds:
Comment Below: What items do you have stashed around the house that you would like ideas for re-purposing?
Disclosure: No additional compensation was received for this posting. If you have any questions, please contact Heather RamblingsOfHeather{at} gmail {dot} com