DIY Message Center

Hello. I'm Sybra and I like to DIY. Or rather, for grammar's sake, DIMyself.

I like fun things, but I don't like to spend a lot of money. I have found making things myself can save money and add a little style to my life.


In 2014 I made one of my favorite projects- my Message Center! 

I liked it so much I'm posting it again! Feel free to click on the link above, or just scroll down for the exact post. I haven't made many changes (just its new location after our move), but I do know what I would have done differently:

1. The mail slot. It fits normal envelopes perfectly, but not the larger-sized (81/2 x 5 1/2) ones. The mail slots are barely too small, which is slightly annoying.

2. I would draw on it with chalkboard markers. This is an easy fix, but I have been too lazy/cheap to buy the pens.

3. I go back and forth on if I would like it to be glossy or matte. It's currently matte, and feels a little rough. A glossy finish might make it look more professional.

That's pretty much it! I like how it looks, and I'm proud that I made it. It holds our keys and mail, and currently a sweet picture of Danger. We never have to worry about late bills or lost keys.

Now, if you missed the first posting with the how-to (how I did it), just keep reading! It's long with a lot of pictures, because that's how I like to read DIY blog posts!

When your husband asks what you would like to do on his day off, you don't pass up that opportunity! 

You tell him: "Let's do this really awesome Pinterest project I've been looking at for a year but that doesn't have any directions or dimensions!" 

After an eye roll he will totally agree to help you.

So we made this!

What, you wanted more steps than one? Okay. It all started with a little Pinterest Inspiration. Pinspiration?

I'm sure this was on the DIY board or something. 

After looking at this for about a year, I finally had Jake's volunteered help to motivate me to get it done. We were supposed to spend a whole day working on it, but ended up spending time with my grandparents instead. I don't regret that, but it did make me regret sleeping in. After a late lunch, and stopping by a family friend's house to wish good luck and meet a baby, we were off to Home Depot. Or did we stop at Home Depot before visiting friends? Clearly I documented this day well.

Home Depot will cut wood for you for free (or for 50 cents after the first two cuts, according to a handwritten sign taped to the saw). We picked out various pieces of wood, careful to pick sturdy let lightweight pieces. We ended up with a small piece of plywood, 3 hooks, short screws, and clamps. And paint! we got a wonderful color of paint! It's mint green with a hint of blue. 

Jake got a quart when I asked for a sample size, so I plan on painting the dining room chairs with all the extra paint. 

We then stopped by my parent's house to cut the plywood down. I had Home Depot cut the large piece, but I wanted to spend time measuring and problem solving for the smaller parts. Jake patiently dealt with me changing my mind and measuring 3 times for each tiny piece, and soon we had a bag full of seemingly random chunks of wood.

Ah! This is when we stopped by the friend's house. Then we went home to paint and assemble. 

Some things I wanted to paint right away for clean lines. Some parts I knew I would paint after it was assembled partially. 

I taped off the dining room table and got to work.

The main board, measuring 28" by 16" to fit a specific wall. 

Since spray paint is more difficult to contain, I started with the chalkboard paint.

I covered the entire board to avoid patches where it showed through the mint paint. Since I used thin layers, I had to double coat the entire board, then I triple coated the areas I knew I would write on, just to be safe. 

You can see some small portions getting clamped in the background- those are the sides of what became the mail holder. I wanted the sides to be thicker than the thin plywood, so I doubled it using wood glue. Here's a close-up:

Next came the border of mint:

Painting and clamping more parts: 

This is the inside of the mail holder- partially painted. 

This is the chalk holder, partially painted. 

While I waited for paint and glue to dry, I got to work on a side project. I had previously painted a vase a bright green color, as outlined in a post I haven't finished. I was unhappy with the color, so I used this mint color right over it! It took a couple of coats to cover the green, but I'm really happy with how it turned out!

I also got to work on the key hooks: 

I had cut extra squares so that a small screw wouldn't go all the way through the board and into the wall. I painted them with two coats, then measured the holes. I set the hooks on the squares, then used a pencil to mark the holes. I then pressed a pointed screw into the wood at the marked spots, since I wouldn't be using a drill. 

When everything was dry, I was able to glue the parts straight on to the board. The glue wasn't meant to hold it there permanently, but to keep it in place for screws or nails.  I didn't measure, but instead eyeballed it using the paint lines as cues. 

I nailed the chalk holder and mail holder from the back, and I screwed the key hooks from the front. This method worked perfectly for nails, but the twisting of the screws ended up making the glue pop up. (I didn't bother using clamps since I would be securing it in other ways).

Finally, I added chalkboard-paint labels to the mail holder, and painted the screws black to blend in. 

I don't know why this photo is off center, but I presume it's due to the fact that I was pray painting indoors. 

Hanging this took significantly longer. I wanted to sleep on it to think of ways to hang it, but in the end I decided on nailing it directly into the wall. (Technically, as I write this, it is still sitting on my counter. I am going to leave now to hang it with Jake.) (Okay, I just hung it. )

This project ended up taking us 2 days. Okay, 3 days if you count clean up. And definitely don't count the 4 days it took me to figure out how to hang it. A word to the wise: Include glue and paint drying times in your estimates for DIY projects!

What do you think? Does this inspire you to make something of your own? Let me know in the comments!