If you watched the season premiere of Breaking Bad, then you know where my inspiration came from
for this week’s project. To make the epic “Magnets” quote my tagline would probably seem crass, so I
will refrain. As always, I wanted to share with you something affordable, easy, and useful….and, if
you’ve read this column before, you know how I enjoy making things personal and one-of-a-kind.
The running theme in my house these past few months has been getting my eldest daughter, Deirdre,
ready for college – I’ve been trying to pick up all those little things for her that you don’t realize you
need until you go to use them and they’re not there: sewing kit, flashlight, safety pins, magnets! The
other big to-do in our family is my niece, Megan’s, wedding – again, new home, new fridge, magnets!
Okay, enough, you get the picture.
The short list of must-have supplies should include:
*clear glass gems – I found mine in the dollar store – 25 in a bag for, you guessed it, $1
*Alene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue
* Magnets
*Scissors, circle punch, or craft knife
* Gorilla Glue or an equally strong adhesive
* Toothpicks – for spreading the Clear Gel glue smoothly and evenly
The list of items you’ll need for creating and personalizing the magnets could be endless, but here are
some of the things I used:
*card stock or scrapbooking paper – I picked up a packet of 12 sheets in Michael’s on clearance for 40
cents; if you want a white background, index cards work well, too!
*stickers, rubber stamps, magazine photos, permanent markers, family photos
STEP ONE:
Use a scissor, craft knife or circle punch to cut out the background papers. My personal choice was the
circle punch – I know I’ll be using it again at some point, so I made the $7.99 investment. Otherwise, lay
the gem on whatever paper you’re using, trace the shape, and cut. If you’re using magazine or family
photos, I suggest using cardstock or an index card circle to back it up so the magnet doesn’t show
through the photo .
STEP TWO:
Before you do anything else, COVER YOUR WORK AREA! You’re working with glues and stamps and
markers, so you want to protect your work area.
Open up your bag of clear gems and have a look at all of them; some may be scratched or pitted so you
may just want to use those as filler in your bamboo plant. With the functional ones, rub them with a
damp paper towel to clean them up. Turn them flat side, and spread a thin layer of Clear Gel glue on it
with a toothpick. Place your photo or design onto the glue, and press it on with a dry toothpick - or use
your fingers, but you want to be sure it’s pressed flat and there are no bubbles. Set it aside to dry and
work on your next one.
STEP THREE:
Your personalized designs should be dry within 30 minutes; the glue will still be pliable enough to move
the photos around if you feel the need. Now it’s time to glue the magnet to your piece. Whichever glue
you’ve chosen, keep in mind, you will only need a tiny dot on the back of the magnet. (my preference is
Gorilla Glue, mainly because it serves its’ purpose and it doesn’t give off those terrible fumes that some
others do – if you choose to use an adhesive like E-6000 or an equivalent, be sure you’re working in a
well-ventilated area, with windows wide open!)
Once you’ve placed a small dot of glue on the back of the magnet, center it onto the back of your design
and let it set overnight.
STEP FOUR:
Oh wait, there is no step four! Three steps – it’s that easy!
As you can see in my photos, I used letter stickers M & J for Megan and Joe; cupcake stickers; rubber
stamps for the dress and little birdhouses; magazine photos for the coffee and books. The sheet music
was actually a piece of scrapbook paper made to look like that. The awesome, funky looking magnets
were made by Deirdre using crackle and glitter nail polishes.