DIY Project: 2-Sided Memo Stand

No matter what side of the aisle, the counter, or the desk you’re on, I think you’ll find my latest DIY Project is sitting pretty.  For lack of a better name, I’m calling it the “2-Sided Memo Stand.”  On one side, it’s a chalkboard.  On the other, it’s a clipboard.  

Used in the kitchen, it can let everyone know what’s for dinner…while at the same time, it can hold your grocery list or recipe cards on the reverse side.  With it’s versatility, this 2-sided memo stand could also come in handy at the office or on a student’s desk.  Best of all, it’s something you can make yourself and, in this post, I’ll show you how.

The idea to make it came from a recent visit to one of my favorite stores…Hobby Lobby.  I saw the cutest clipboard there and just had to pick it up.  Then I turned it over and noticed it was $30!   

$30 is a little more than I’m willing to pay for a clipboard, so I thought, why not make one myself? I could feel the wheels in my mind starting to spin.  Then I thought, I’ll make mine even better by making it 2-sided with a chalkboard on the other side!  Yeah!  Take THAT Hobby Lobby!  So I started shopping with purpose, looking around to see what I could make my awesome 2-sided memo stand out of…and THIS is what I came up with:

Ironically, I had already bought the white wooden plaque at Michael’s for $2.99, because I liked the shape of it and knew I would somehow use it in the future. Knowing I already had that, I found the wooden candlestick holder, and a round wooden plaque I could use for it’s base while there at Hobby Lobby.  I paid less than $3 for both.  I found the wood caps at Walmart for just over $1.   And, because I couldn’t find a metal clip anywhere to save my life, I ended up just buying a clipboard at Office Max. for $2.  So all totaled, I only spent about $9 for this DIY project.

Putting it together was fairly easy.  I first took off the metal portion inside the candlestick, and then drilled a small hole on the bottom of it, directly in the center.  I took the round base plaque, and also drilled a hole through it so that I could screw both pieces together.  I used wood glue, in addition to the screw, to make sure they’d stay firmly in place.

With the base now done, I sanded off the very tip of the center point on the white plaque.  It needed to be just flat enough to where I could drill a screw into it.  

I used a round wooden chip about the size of a quarter and screwed it into the flattened center point of the white plaque.  Had I just glued the plaque directly onto the candlestick base, that point would not have been stable enough to keep the pieces together.  It needed just a little more, and that circular wood chip was perfect.  With it in place, I glued the plaque onto the candlestick base.

I then moved on to the top of the plaque, where I glued two wooden caps, one on top of the other, strictly for decoration.

 With my memo stand all made, I let the glue set for a couple of hours and then got to painting.  I used just regular acrylic paint that I covered with a clear coat to give it a glossy finish.  

If you decide to use chalkboard paint like I did, I suggest using a small roller for that part to ensure the surface of your chalkboard is extra smooth.  It takes quite a few coats to get the right coverage.  Just make sure you don’t put a clear coat over the chalkboard paint or else it won’t work as a chalkboard.

I painted just a couple of decorative touches on both sides of the memo stand, then all that was left to do was to screw the clip onto the board. 

I really liked how this DIY project turned out.  So much so, that I decided the only thing that would make me happier is to give it away to one of my Murals by Marcy friends/followers.  It’s in the mail, and this person has no idea it’s coming.  How fun is that!?!