Clever DIY Glass Magnets

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I am a sucker for a good DIY project that can be personalized.  When I saw these easy-to-make magnets, I was instantly hooked. I was casually browsing my local craft store and happened upon some ADORB scrapbooking paper and it all just felt kinda meant to be! Ever have those moments?

My husband thought I was crazy when I came home with bags full of E6000® glue, glass gems (or vase fillers), paper, and a giganticus pack of heavy duty magnets. He just doesn’t understand the relationship between woman and craft! But he does now, however, appreciate these awesome magnets I’ve recently added to our refrigerator. Me- 1 Husband- 0     <— But don’t tell him I said that!  🙂

The most exciting part of this project is picking out the designs you’d like to use for your magnets. I walked down an aisle with huuuundreds of pages of scrapbooking paper and ended up with owls (I love love LOVE those little guys), zoo animals, animal paw prints, dinosaurs, birds, and bunnies. What a cool idea it’d be to make some bunny magnets to give as gifts for Easter!? To coworkers? Boss? Best friend? Of course your children probably wouldn’t appreciate finding these in their Easter basket but they will notice and love them while they hold up their art work on the fridge!

Without further delay, let’s get into the fun stuff. These are the things you’ll need:

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• Scrapbooking paper with your favorite designs
• Clear glass gems with flat backs
• Mod Podge®
• E6000® glue (these gems are heavy… you need a heavy duty glue to hold your magnet in place)
• Magnets (I used ones .75 inches thick – you definitely want a strong magnet because the thinner ones won’t hold your gem up very well)
• Glitter (optional)
• Paint brush, pencil, and scissors

The first step is to trace your clear gems around pieces of your paper that you’d like to turn into a magnet. Next you will cut this shape out and then trim around the edges an extra 1/16 inch- this is to make the circumference of your shape a bit smaller than the gem you traced to make sure it glues down well without any edges sticking off of your gem.

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Next, use your Mod Podge® to glue your design on to the flat part of your gem. I put a little drop of Mod Podge® onto the gem, used a paintbrush to spread it around, and then stuck my scrapbook paper on (design side down so it will show through the gem.) Let dry.

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The glitter may also be used in place of scrapbooking paper. In this case, coat the flat side of your gem with Mod Podge®, dip in your glitter until it is completely covered in awesome sparkliness, and then let dry. It is necessary to cover the glitter with another coat of Mod Podge® to prevent it from sprinkling off. If you don’t, your house might look like Tinkerbell hosted a frat party. Seriously. Glitter everywhere is no good.

After a few hours (okay, okay, I think I only made it to the 30-minute mark… patience is not my virtue!) you will put another THIN coat of Mod Podge® on the back of your scrap book paper right at the area that you are planning on gluing down your magnet. This will just provide a layer between your paper and the E6000® glue. Trust me, I skipped this step my first go ‘round and a black circle from the magnet could be seen on my design. The glue doesn’t eat through the paper but it does thin it out.

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This little splatter of Mod Podge® won’t take long to dry and then you will be ready to glue your magnets on. Use a little drop of E6000® glue (more is NOT better here) and plop your magnet down on top of it. You will have to keep your gems magnet side up to allow it to dry and because your gems are round on the other side, keep a good watch on your magnets to make sure they don’t slip around. I did have to babysit my craft for about 10-15 minutes to ensure that everything stayed put. After 15 minutes your magnets won’t move around any longer but you do need to allow a full 24 hours for it to completely dry. I know, bummer.

But then voila, you have a bunch of cute, magnetic bubbles of awesomeness!!!

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I hope you have as much fun with this craft as I did! Maybe I’ll try using photos of people’s faces next… if you give it a shot, let me know how it turns out!

{Mod Podge® and E6000® are registered Trademarks. MyMilitarySavings.com nor the blogger owns any rights to the names mentioned.  MyMilitarySavings.com was not compensated by the company, service or product mentioned in this blog. This is strictly the honest opinions, findings, beliefs, and/or experiences of the author. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the bloggers’ own. Any claims, statistic, quotes or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. MyMilitarySavings.com is not liable for any risks injury or illness that may occur if you choose to act upon the bloggers’ suggestions stated in this blog.}