Cheap & Easy DIY Magnets

Yesterday was a day devoted to schedules and the styling of such. As much fun as I had creating our Thomas Family Calendar…

… I had no way to hang it! The poor thing had been affixed to our fridge with scotch tape because of the lack of magnet presence in our house.

Well, NO MORE! This weekend proved fruitful in a host of different ways, but the best part? I got to try my hand at magnet-making and, truth be told, it was pretty darned easy (and fun)! So with that, I bring you:

This is a great project to tackle with a nice cup of tea, wine, or lemonade at your disposal (whatever floats your boat) and your favorite TV show or Pandora station playing in the background. I made mine to the tune of Everybody Loves Raymond, so my productivity was seasoned with a lot of laughter breaks.

For this project, you will need:

1. Basic Tools. A pair of scissors, pencil (not pictured), and a paint brush (also not pictured are all things you’ll need for this DIY.

2. Tiles! For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out what to use as the “anchor” for both the magnet and the decorative paper. I settled on a simple tile, figuring that I could find them pretty cheap and already painted with a white finish. Wrong. I was striking out left and right and learning quickly that single tiles were far more expensive than I thought! The ones below were just too big and almost $1.50 each, which, after including the cost of other supplies… was starting to take this project out of the “thrifty” category.

I was giving up hope on my project, UNTIL.

I almost couldn’t believe it. A whole slab of (25!!!) tiles for a whopping total of $2.57! That’s the same price for 25 as the other kind was for 2! Major score. I was also excited about the unique hexagon shape, in comparison with the more uniform square.

3. Magnets. I was having trouble finding magnets for this project that weren’t so thick that they would make the pieces stick out too far from the fridge. Either that, or they weren’t large enough in size to be able to hold anything in place. I decided to go with the Magnetic Tape and figured that two 1″ pieces taped next to each other would be enough coverage for my tile. Two packs of the magnet tape was exactly enough for six magnets.

 

Note: If I did this again, I would try for a magnet with a bit more strength. It works for what I’m doing, but for hanging heavier things, you may want to take this into consideration.

4. Super Glue. This is optional, but I wanted a bit of insurance in adhering the magnet to the back of the tile, so I opted to use a dab of super glue to help.

5. Modge Podge and Glue. I didn’t end up using the glue because the Modge Podge did the job just fine. It’s up to you- you might like to give the glue a shot!

6. Scrapbook Paper. Grab a few prints you love and you’re good to go!

Alrighty, let’s get to it:

Step 1: Break apart the tiles and remove the “connectors” from the sides. In the picture below, you can see the little tan tabs of glue- break or cut them off for smooth sides on your tiles.

Step 2: Cut the magnet tape into pieces the length of your tile. Each strip should get you six- enough for three magnets.

Step 3: Stick the magnets to the back of the tile. This is where the (optional) super glue comes in. I used the center line of the tile to line up each magnet.

Step 4: Cut the corners of the magnets to line up with the angles of the tiles.

Step 5: Trace the tile on your scrapbook paper and cut the shape out. To get the “white border” effect, cut just inside the shape you traced so it will end up being smaller than your tile.

 Tip: Once I had the size I wanted, I used the paper cut- out as my new guide for tracing and cutting the rest of them.

Step 6: Put a layer of Modge Podge on your tile.

Step 7: Center your scrapbook piece. I wasn’t too concerned with getting it perfectly centered and straight, as part of the charm of these is that they are not all exactly uniform.

Step 8: One more coat of Modge Podge on top.

Step 9: Let them sit until they are dry to the touch (this took under ten minutes).

Step 10: Arrange and enjoy!

These cuties make me more motivated to keep our fridge clean, organized, and uncluttered. I’m loving how the patterns and colors subtly tie into our kitchen decor. Totally customizable to your space!

And for a quick cost breakdown per magnet:

Tile: $.10 + Magnet: $.83= $.93 per magnet! Granted, I already had the rest of the supplies on hand, so just to be fair, we’ll round it up to $1.00. A dollar per magnet- not bad!

For something that is this cute, with the bonus of the personal touch, I’ll take it! And probably make more… 🙂 Don’t be surprised (friends and family) if you start receiving these as gifts… you’ve been warned.

If you end up making magnets of your own, email pictures to me and I’ll post them so others can see how you made out! Happy Crafting!

-Leslie

PS. Tomorrow’s the big day for our “oh-so-purple” bathroom reno! Check back in to see the “afters” to this lovely BEFORE:

Update: Check out the progress of this room here and here!