# Alternative to bulletin board pins/tacks?



## Venice Mamacita

Hi there ~ DS brings home lots of pictures from preschool, and starts K in a month, so we got a large bulletin board for his room so he can display them (our fridge is stainless, so magnets don't stick). The problem is, I'm very nervous about having a bunch of push pins lying around a 5 y/o's room (we also have a baby on the way in October, and they'll share the room). I'm sure he'll be very careful, but they're bound to fall off and wind up in someone's (most likely my!) foot. Any alternative ideas? TIA!


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## ChetMC

You could get a magnetic whiteboard and use magnets like you would on a fridge.

Our fridge isn't magnetic either. We taped stuff up with painters tape.

I've also seen neat board made with coloured elastic bands wrapped all around and you slide things under the bands. You might be able to do this with the bulletin board that you have.


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## betterparent

http://www.target.com/Self-Stick-Fra...3Aboard&page=1

http://www.target.com/Scroll-French-...3Aboard&page=1

and there is always tape on the wall!


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## pumpkin

You could get a magnet board for the room instead.

Depending upon how thick the bulletin board is, you may be able to modify it. You can put a piece of sheet metal behind fabric for a custom magnet board. It might work with the cork too, but I make no promises.


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## harrietsmama

The elastic is a good idea, and I have also seen folks use ribbon criss crosses to make diamond shapes. Even for a boy, they make some pretty cool printed ribbon


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## Venice Mamacita

I do like the elastic idea, too, and already considered the criss-crossed ribbon . . . but DH doesn't think the ribbon will work very well, and friends who have one of these say the pictures and cards fall off. I also love the idea of magnetizing the cork . . . thanks so much for the suggestions!


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## Eliseatthebeach

We have a very long curtain rod with finials on a focal wall in our house. On the rod I have matching curtain clips. I hang all the art by the clips. You would be suprised how much you can fit on there. It will all eventually overlap and look cluttered. That's when I remove some....some go into the trash and some go into the keep box. Everyone really enjoys looking at the kids art and school work when they come over. I have had many friends who have done the same thing in their house. Some have even put a smaller curtain rod in their dc's room to hang even more things from, like the stuff that your dc just doesn't want to part with just yet.


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## Aubergine68

I have the following pocket chart from a teacher supply store:

http://www.educationstation.ca/detail.php?id=463

It has 1-foot-square pockets -- great for holding artwork or children's books and displaying them at eye level.

Teacher supply stores are also a great place to look for poster mounting systems that won't mark the walls, classroom clotheslines, etc.


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## perl

I just have a long piece of yarn across the wall in the family room. I got some of those itty bitty clothespins from the craft store and use those to hold up the art.

Super easy and cheap!


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## christianmomof3

when my oldest was in kindergarten and preschool and was my only child we hung all of her artwork in the garage. the walls were unfinished and unpainted and we just taped and thumbtacked her artwork all over the garage and so she saw it every time we drove in. that way it was not in her room so she was not messing with the thumbtacks.


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## beckington

If you want to keep using the bulletin board, you could glue wooden clothespins to it and use those to hold up pictures. We did that in my son's room and it's working fairly well. He can move pictures around as he pleases. We also painted the clothespins.

I'm also planning on getting a can of magnetic paint and painting a wide stripe across a wall in his room. You can paint over it with a top coat to make it all nice and pretty/funky! Then he can have fun putting whatever he wants up with magnets and playing with magnet letters etc.


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## MomAndOliver

I just did this for my 3-year-old, and I just mounted it above his shelves - I figure by the time he's old enough to reach it, it will be safe for him to have thumbtacks. In the meantime, the tacks stay in my room and we put things up together, which is fun. He tells me exactly where to put everything. But he's not a kid who wants to change out all the art every day, either, so that might change things for you.


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## Polliwog

Quote:


Originally Posted by *beckington* 

I'm also planning on getting a can of magnetic paint and painting a wide stripe across a wall in his room. You can paint over it with a top coat to make it all nice and pretty/funky! Then he can have fun putting whatever he wants up with magnets and playing with magnet letters etc.

I was just going to suggest magnetic paint. It's great stuff.


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## Venice Mamacita

Cool, magnetic paint! I've heard of chalkboard paint, but not magnetic . . . what a great idea, thank you.


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## Polliwog

It goes on really well. Then you can just paint over it so you don't even know it's there.


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## textbookcase

Magnetic paint, or a clothesline across the wall and clothespins.


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## Aubergine68

In my experience, you need several coats of the magnetic paint. I needed 5 coats to get a surface strong enough to use magnets to hold paper on the wall (1-2 coats was enough for magnetic letters).

It also is a thick gloppy kind of paint that leaves a bumpy surface -- unlike a pp, I definitely know it is there. Is there a brand that goes on smoothly that anyone can recommend?

I kinda like the texture, but if you have perfect drywall and don't want to permanently change the surface of it, doing the magnetic paint on the bulletin board (I think pp suggested this already) rather than directly on the wall, may be the best idea.

I like my magnet wall though -- I am careful about using baby-safe magnets.


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## Aubergine68

Here is an idea for displaying kids' artwork on a framed piece of chicken wire with clothespins.

It reminded me of this thread, so I thought I'd share:

http://sacredspaceshome.blogspot.com...rket-find.html


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## Kristine233

Love alll the ideas given so far! When I worked in preschool we had worked displayed int eh hallways a bit differently. Wooden picture frames painted fun colors adn then clothes pins attached (permantly) to them. The artwork could be swapped out easily and it looked like a framed piece of art. Great for decorating.

I want to do this in my hallway here just haven't gotten around to it.


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