TechWife Posted June 6 Posted June 6 I have a shopping challenge! I'm making some busy boxes and I would like to find small magnetic white boards, cookie sheets or other child safe metal pieces to use for magnet activities. Here's the catch - they need to fit inside the small box on this case. The target size is 4" x 6" or smaller. I hope someone can find it because I am coming up empty. Quote
sgo95 Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Galvanized steel is magnetic. What about cutting this into smaller pieces and sticking them into a frame (take the glass out)? 1 Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 44 minutes ago, sgo95 said: Galvanized steel is magnetic. What about cutting this into smaller pieces and sticking them into a frame (take the glass out)? I think the risk of it falling apart might be too great - but maybe I could glue it to a frame with E6000? I wonder if dollar tree has small plastic frames? Everything needs to be non-porous (no wood, no fabric) Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 13 minutes ago, katilac said: How about 4x6 magnetic sheets? Okay - that was probably too obvious for me to find! Those are usually very flexible. I wonder if I could laminate something and glue it to the back to make it a little more rigid? I need to try to make sure it doesn't break, too. I'm going to get these to see if they might work - they are pretty inexpensive! Quote
katilac Posted June 6 Posted June 6 12 minutes ago, TechWife said: Okay - that was probably too obvious for me to find! Those are usually very flexible. I wonder if I could laminate something and glue it to the back to make it a little more rigid? I need to try to make sure it doesn't break, too. I'm going to get these to see if they might work - they are pretty inexpensive! They already have an adhesive backing, so you can easily adhere them to something more solid. Maybe 4x6 chipboard sheets? Or 4x6 balsa wood? Either of those are handy items to have around for other projects. Why yes, I do indeed buy way too many craft supplies. 1 2 Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 (edited) @katilac - do you think the chipboard sheets would go through a home laminating machine? eta: is this the same type of material? I think these would go through a laminating machine. It bugs me that I need about four of these - so I'll have to come up with another craft to do with them so they don't go to waste. Edited June 6 by TechWife Quote
Chris in VA Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Can you adhere them to the lid of the small containers? 1 Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 Just now, Chris in VA said: Can you adhere them to the lid of the small containers? No - they are flip top containers so the lids don't come off. Quote
Chris in VA Posted June 6 Posted June 6 (edited) I'm very curious what you are using this for! ETA Depending on use, could you snip the plastic hinge and make the containers snap on instead? Edited June 6 by Chris in VA 1 Quote
katilac Posted June 6 Posted June 6 6 minutes ago, TechWife said: @katilac - do you think the chipboard sheets would go through a home laminating machine? I would think so, but in the end it depends on your laminating machine. 1/10 of an inch is a common maximum thickness, and you'd have to stack 16 or so of the chipboard sheets to get to an inch of thickness. 1 Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 (edited) 55 minutes ago, Chris in VA said: I'm very curious what you are using this for! I'm making busy boxes! Specifically, the magnet board will be used with different magnet activities, like alphabet magnets & other magnetic shapes. The idea is to put paper on top of the magnetic surface, then put whatever magnet you're using on it and the kids can trace it. Older kids can use it for a base to build magnet based structures. Some background: I volunteer & mentor new volunteers at the area children's hospital. We often move very quickly to soothe or distract a child, we play with children while their parents meet with the care team or take a break for a meal or go home for a short time, and when we aren't doing that we check in with families to see if they want any toys or games for distraction/normalization or to see if the parents, siblings and visitors need anything. I am making boxes with easy to do crafts and activities that volunteers can grab & go to a patient room with. There are roughly 15 different volunteers doing this throughout the week. Age wise, the volunteers range from college aged to retirees, so there are varying levels of experience with children. It can be a bit stressful to try to figure out what to do with a particular child quickly, or to remember the rules to the card games (old maid, uno, speed, etc.). So I am trying to come up with some easy crafts & activities that volunteers can use. There are some limitations. Due to limited storage, the entire activity or craft should fit inside the small box. I will label the boxes with general categories (scissor skills; sorting; matching, etc.) and will switch the crafts & activities out seasonally. I am hoping some of the boxes will be themed with a few small things in them like stickers, matching game, craft), but most boxes will have one activity. Everything that goes into a patient room and then comes back out has to be either cleaned or thrown away if it's not cleanable. So, with that in mind, there are three categories for the items I can use: consumables: used in the completion of the activity - google eyes, construction paper, felt, etc. disposable if not used - nothing too expensive here, throwing away a couple of pieces of unused construction paper is no big deal, fabric would be too pricey to throw away over time cleanable - or able to be disinfected with our super powered disinfectant - no cloth, wood, paper or anything porous that would hold onto germs; we can laminate paper/card stock to make it cleanable, though if the seal breaks it has to be discarded. I'm a pro at laminating monopoly money, uno cards & playing cards, now! I am having a lot of fun with it and have more ideas than I have boxes. Each of the large boxes has sixteen boxes in it and I need to reserve a couple of them for supplies so the activity boxes can be refilled. I've been wanting to do busy bags for a long time, but the need to keep everything clean combined with limited storage has discouraged me from following through. I was inspired by this pin and this pin a few days ago, which solved my storage problem and part of the cleaning problem. Now my brain can't stop coming up with ideas to fill the boxes, and I'm getting creative trying to think up cleanable substitutes. I'll be able to get most of the supplies, like construction paper and kid craft items (google eyes, pipe cleaners, beads, etc.) from our supply room, but some things (like the magnetic sheets), we won't have in the supply room & I'm going to provide those. Edited June 6 by TechWife 4 1 Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 44 minutes ago, Chris in VA said: ETA Depending on use, could you snip the plastic hinge and make the containers snap on instead? No, snipping wouldn't work because it would leave rough edges that could snag on something or scratch someone. I also would worry it would get lost, but in realty it's no more likely to get lost than anything else the kids play with. Quote
Chris in VA Posted June 6 Posted June 6 Ok, how about a thin plastic cutting board piece? Dollar Tree prob has them, but I know Ikea sells a 3 pk. You could adhere the magnet sheet to one of those! Just cut to size, prob adhere with that super strong craft glue. 1 Quote
Katy Posted June 6 Posted June 6 They make vinyl magnetic whiteboards like this, though they aren’t rigid. I’d think you could cut this with scissors or even a paper cutter (though if it’s a small blade you’d need to replace it afterwards). You could probably glue it to the bottom of a box. https://a.co/d/6rtNI7B 1 Quote
Katy Posted June 6 Posted June 6 There also must be a manufacturer of these. My kids have been given clipboard boxes that snap together and have cartoon character magnets & whiteboard markers inside. I thought DH got them at Dollar Tree. I just threw a Peppa Pig one away yesterday. Quote
HomeAgain Posted June 6 Posted June 6 How about these? https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Adhesive-Dry-Erase-Whiteboard/dp/B01H4CXJSQ/ref=asc_df_B01H4CXJSQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693071499115&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=368087675552554830&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002101&hvtargid=pla-569899011242&psc=1&mcid=f75cfa5bd7c8314d8bf5c316eb8fa26a&gad_source=1 Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 1 hour ago, Chris in VA said: Ok, how about a thin plastic cutting board piece? Dollar Tree prob has them, but I know Ikea sells a 3 pk. You could adhere the magnet sheet to one of those! Just cut to size, prob adhere with that super strong craft glue. 43 minutes ago, Katy said: They make vinyl magnetic whiteboards like this, though they aren’t rigid. I’d think you could cut this with scissors or even a paper cutter (though if it’s a small blade you’d need to replace it afterwards). You could probably glue it to the bottom of a box. https://a.co/d/6rtNI7B These ideas combined might work. The whiteboard aspect lends a lot of flexibility for different activities. I would have to make sure I can cut the plastic cutting board without leaving rough or sharp edges. A rotary cutter might work for that, too. I could get three magnet boards out of the largest of the whiteboards. I’m reasonably certain those would cut smoothly, I vaguely remember cutting one for some craft or another in the past. Quote
HomeAgain Posted June 6 Posted June 6 EasyBake Oven trays look to be the right size, if not just a bit expensive to buy multiples: 2 Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 41 minutes ago, HomeAgain said: How about these? https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Adhesive-Dry-Erase-Whiteboard/dp/B01H4CXJSQ/ref=asc_df_B01H4CXJSQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693071499115&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=368087675552554830&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002101&hvtargid=pla-569899011242&psc=1&mcid=f75cfa5bd7c8314d8bf5c316eb8fa26a&gad_source=1 Those look great at first glance. I read through the info and there’s a warning about them not working if they are “rolled,” which makes me wonder how flexible they are. They do sound more durable than the magnet whoteboards, but the alloy could be super flexible. I wish I could go to an Amazon warehouse and look at all of these options. Oops - I just came up with an idea for Amazon. They could add a “storefront” to their warehouses where people could come and do on demand comparison shopping. You put a request in and you can get 3-4 items come to you on a conveyor belt (anyone remember service merchandise?), then you can make your selection and send what you don’t want back right away. Hmm. Quote
Pippen Posted June 6 Posted June 6 I was thinking metal locker mirrors would fit your needs, but in searching around, I'm finding that they're mostly acrylic now. My next thought were mini baking pans or sheets, like the rectangular pan in this Easy Bake Oven replacement set. 1 Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 13 minutes ago, HomeAgain said: EasyBake Oven trays look to be the right size, if not just a bit expensive to buy multiples: I don’t need many, and the three pack brings the cost down. This might be perfect! It also set me on the path of the similar muffin tin that I could use for sorting games. I’m a bit torn now between doing a magnetic white board and a tray. Either way we’d use paper on top of it so the kids could keep their creations. Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 4 minutes ago, Pippen said: I was thinking metal locker mirrors would fit your needs, but in searching around, I'm finding that they're mostly acrylic now. My next thought were mini baking pans or sheets, like the rectangular pan in this Easy Bake Oven replacement set. You & @HomeAgain are thinking alike! 1 Quote
TechWife Posted June 6 Author Posted June 6 OK everyone - let’s press “pause” on this thread - I have a ton of ideas to follow up on! I may come back and add different items to the challenge over the next couple of weeks! Thank you so much for your help! 1 Quote
katilac Posted June 6 Posted June 6 7 hours ago, TechWife said: OK everyone - let’s press “pause” on this thread Not before I say how much I miss Service Merchandise. 1 Quote
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