Magnets?

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted something on here, but I've been so busy after Christmas and we all had the flu in January, that I'm just now back to doing things again that I can post about! :) And one thing I've been wanting to make for a long time are magnets! After seeing Holli's blog, I thought they were so adorable that I wanted to make some for my neice and nephews, too.



So, here's what I started out with. (I made this project by myself since I wanted to make these as gifts for the kids.)






Some tools I used were:

Glue (you will need sturdy glue to hold it all together)

some scraps of paper or pictures of what you want your magnet to show

clear glass stones that are usually used with fish tanks and decorations (which I purchased for $1.00 at the local dollar store) *also, there were other colors that you may prefer to use, just remember that dark colors won't let you see your picture as well.

magnets with self adhesive backing (if the stones are heavy, like mine, you will need very strong, thick magnets)

a pencil

scissors or xacto knife (scissors work best with children :)

some yarn or thin ribbon (optional)

Once I had everything I needed, I set to work. First I placed my glass stone on top of the picture I wanted, drew a circle around the picture and then cut out my picture. Then I took my glue (I used Elmer's cement glue with the brush made on to the lid. Regular liquid glue would work if you use a brush to spread it out.) and spread it on the flat part of the glass stone and then placed my picture face up on that. I did this with all the pictures I wanted to make magnets out of (I only made three) and then I took my magnets, outlined the
shape of each stone again, and cut out the size I needed. Then I just peeled the back off, stuck it to the back of my picture on the flat part of the stone, and voila! A magnet is made!

This picture lets you see how big the stones I used were. They were fairly large, and very heavy. If you want them to look a little more exciting, you can add ribbon or yarn by spreading your glue around the edges, and then just sticking your accesories on.

Above are my finished magnets. The top right one does have a picture attached, but it did not show through very well, as it was a dark picture. You may want to experiment with your pictures before you do anything. The only problem I had with this project is that my magnets weren't stong enough to hold up the glass stone when I put them on my refrigerator. If you plan to give these away as gifts or something, I would recommend using some better quality magnets.

There are plenty of other things you can make with these too. I got a whole bag of them, so I may make many more things. I was thinking about making a homemade checkers game, or a tic tac toe game. They can even be used to decorate something bland, or to make jewelry with, or to set out as a holiday decoration or .... well, the possibilities are endless. :)

I hope you enjoy making these with the kids in your life!