[YarPcola]

I was looking for a way to temporarily display photos and be able to switch them out as the mood strikes. My plan was to have several hundred 4 x 6 prints made at a cheap place like Walmart so I could frequently change the display. I searched the internet and found a lot of suggestions but didn't care for any of them; they were either too cluttered with ribbons or alligator clips, didn't display enough pictures, were too expensive, or hid too much of the pictures. I then thought of using small rare-earth magnets - if only I could find some very small ones for a decent price. A quick check of eBay turned up 500 magnets for under thirty dollars, including shipping!


I used super glue to easily stick the magnets to some tempered hardboard cut to fit frames. I then spray painted the hardboard, magnets and all - first with gray primer and then with flat black. I had plenty of magnets, so I just used another one to stick to the front of each picture to hold it in place. To remove them, just pull it off with a short stack of magnets - it pops off easily. I plan to place stacks of pictures underneath the display so my kids and wife can change them out as they please. I think it came out nicely and meets all my objectives.

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[landscaped1]

Really cool idea! Like the concept, would have been cool if you could have used a metal board and been able to be more flexible with were the magnets were placed. But all in all it looks neat and clean. I like it!

[Tuner571]

Really cool project and the results are very good indeed. However, I was wondering, did you put magnets on the photos themselves or is there a different way you held them in place?

[YarPcola]

There is a magnet behind, glued to the hardboard, and also one on the front. I first thought I'd use some small piece of metal in front, like a rivet or a washer, but what the heck, I had 500 of the little things so I just used another magnet. By using the magnet it is super-secure, and easy to post - just place the picture where you want it and literally throw another magnet at it.

I thought about using a steel sheet as the base but couldn't think of an easy and cheap way of doing it. I located some steel flashing at Lowe's, but imagined problems with it laying flat, rough-cut edges, etc. So I just went with magnets...as I said, I have 500 of the little suckers.

[rparmar]

Very creative. Thanks for sharing this idea.

I am thinking it might actually be good for a gallery presentation, especially if you let each person take one photo. As the exhibit goes on, the art gets more and more sparse...