I always liked crafting fridge magnets while I was growing up, but those were the days when everyone had a metal fridge door. Stainless steel appliances might look nice, but it’s no good for sticking up school papers with a ceramic watermelon or set of A-B-C magnets.
Our fridge might be limited to the few magnets we can stick to one side, but you might recall I just made a cool lace-covered magnetic board for my home office.
It was looking pretty sparse, but after a quick trip to the dollar store and the local craft store, I was able to make dozens of magnets for about $12 — with plenty of supplies left over.
This is an easy project to do on your own, but it’s also something you can do with kids — especially over March Break when the days start to feel endless! My son helped me with some of these magnets, and happily made a few to stick to the metal storage lockers up in his bedroom.
Ready to get started? Plug in your glue gun and grab a pair of scissors ...
DIY flower magnets
Buy an inexpensive bouquet of fake flowersCut off the stems (and any pokey parts on the back)Hot-glue a bloom to a magnet — so pretty!
DIY glass magnets
Buy a baggie of glass stones ($2 at Dollarama);Cut a tiny circle of fabric (or pretty scrapbook paper) to be the same size as a round magnet;Glue the fabric circle to the magnet;Hot-glue a glass stone to the fabric;Press down firmly while the glue’s hot, and it squishes out flat and blends into the glass stone.
DIY fabric magnets
NOTE: Many crafters make fabric-covered magnets with large buttons, glass discs or button-covering kits, but I found this method much cheaper.Buy a package of large googly eyes;Cut a circle of fabric that’s a few centimetres larger than the googly eye;Snip the edges of the fabric with your scissors so it can curve more easily. (If you’re using stretchy fabric, you can skip this step!);Place the googly eye on the back of the fabric;Wrap the fabric around the googly eye and hot-glue it in place;Hot-glue a magnet to the back.
- COST: $12
- EFFORT: 1 out of 5
- RESULTS: 5 out of 5
Heather Laura Clarke is a crafty maker who perpetually has paint smears on her hands, sawdust in her shoes and bits of thread stuck to her leggings. She lives in Truro with her husband, son, and daughter. Follow her adventures at HeathersHandmadeLife.com.
