Sunday, July 31, 2011

Lowri - Magnets with Tutorial

Hi Everyone - Lowri here.

We will be announcing the winners of this months Challenge in the next couple of days - so I thought I would share a tutorial that has been a few months in the making! It's also a perfect way to use up scraps of paper and make some unique gifts too.

Couple of disclaimers before I start! This would be fun to do with your kids but step one (cleaning the glass beads) is definitely an adults only activity. You can buy glass domes - but I don't know where - so if you find some let me know. At the end of the post is a cheap and easy way to make lots of magnets without all the fuss!!

I have used the Cosmo Cricket "Upcyle" Collection which is perfect with it's bright colors and fun themes. I also decided I needed somewhere to put the magnets - so I made this fun board too!
These magnets are so much fun to make and you really only need a few basic supplies.
Now - I know you can probably buy these glass domes but I couldn't find anywhere here in New Zealand to get them, so I have "upcycled" these ones from The Warehouse.

Preparing the Glass Domes
  1. Buy some cheap magnets
  2. Carefully remove backing (definitely adults only)
  3. Scrape away most of the glue with a sharp craft knife
  4. Use a pot scourer to remove remaining glue

Making the Magnets
  1. Cut or punch circles of paper slightly smaller than the flat side of the glass dome
  2. Apply Mod Podge to the surface of the paper you want visible through the magnet and glue onto flat side of magnet
  3. When dry, apply a layer of Mod Podge to the other side o the paper (outside)
  4. Using a strong craft glue, stick a magnet to the underside and leave to dry
Here are some close-ups of the magnets. I made three different sizes here - for the largest I used a 1" circle punch.


The magnet board started life as a really ugly magnetic calendar thingy - so I sprayed the outside edges with some tile paint, glued on some paper and when the glue was dry - I Mod Podged over the top to add some shine and protection.

The wonderful papers from Cosmo Cricket really do all the work - they co-ordinate perfectly and the prints are fun and fresh.




These are the magnets I made last year during our Christmas countdown.



OK - if you want to make lot of these very cheaply - buy yourself a jar of decorative glass pebbles such as these (from The Warehouse again - about $4)

Follow the "Making the Magnets" steps as shown above and you can make a lot of these very quickly. Be warned though the quality of the glass is such that the paper will not be as clear through them - but for $4 why not give it a go and see! I made a few to try- you can see these below.

Post a comment with any questions :-)

Lowri :-)


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3 comments:

  1. shazsilverwolfAugust 1, 2011 at 12:54 AM

    Don't know about over there, but here in the UK you can often buy these glass domes in stores that carry aquarium goods- people scatter them on the gravel. Might be worth a look?

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  2. paperchainsAugust 13, 2011 at 9:00 PM

    Absolutely love these and that magnet board you made. Finally found some domes and my daughter and I have made them, have turned out well. Many thanks for putting your tutorial up.

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  3. KatrinshineSeptember 19, 2011 at 7:35 PM

    Thank you for sharing! I sell digital collage sheets for scrapbooking and jewelry making www.karisagraphic.etsy.com but I never know how to make them!
    Katrin

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