My Own Magnets

I received inspiration for my magnet project from my sister-in-law.  She stopped me while I was visiting one day to show me the cutest little magnets that her and my neice had been making together.  They made them out of the flat marble-like pieces that she had purchased for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree in town.  As I stood there I was thinking to myself..."add this to your project list."  That's as far as it got.

A few weeks later I'm out shopping with a friend and she fell in love with the same type of magnets that had pieces of an atlas/map with city names under them.  She purchased them (even though they costs WAY too much) and it got me thinking.  I remembered the ones my sister-in-law made and I was determined to get busy on making my own.  LOL

There are a ton of variations you can do with these cool magnets.  For the ones I'm showing here I used pages from an old book, copies out of a hymnal and flower pictures I cut from a flower/bulb catalog.  You can layer your papers, add cut outs and use countless other things printed on paper. 

Supplies
Larger flat bottomed glass marble discs
Paper/Embelleshments of choice
Scissors
Glue (I used an amazing glue pen)
Fingernail polish
Magnets

Instructions

• Pick your first glass disc and trace around onto your paper choice.

• Cut out the object you traced.  Be sure to cut on the inside of the line slightly so that your paper piece is just a tad bit smaller than the space you traced.

• Add any layers you wish to the piece you just cut.  I had very tiny letters to attach.  I use an amazing glue pen that I purchased from the craft department at Walmart.  It's great for small projects like this.

• Prepare the back, flat part of your disc to adhere the paper piece.  I used the same glue pen for this part.  It has a narrow and wide end for versatile application.  I simply apply a complete layer of glue from the pen and then attached my paper piece, face down onto the disc.

• Line your piece up correctly onto the disc.  I turned my over on the counter and gave it a good squish to work out any bubbles in the glue.  Allow this to dry completely before moving on to the next step.
• I wanted to seal the back of the paper before applying the magnet.  To do so I simply painted a coat of clear fingernail polish onto the paper.  Be sure to get a little along the edges of your paper piece to seal it onto the disc.  Allow this to dry completely before moving on to the next step.

• Finally, using the same glue pen I applied a small spot of glue to the back of my disc and put on the magnet.  Allow this to dry and then you've got some really cute magnets.

Scrabble Piece Pillows

I've recently become addicted to the game WORDS WITH FRIENDS on my phone.  I had already seen an image where someone had cut large wood squares, painted them to look like Scrabble pieces and put them on the wall spelling out words.  I decided to make pillows. 

These can be made to spell words, initials, favorite numbers, etc..  Be creative with your choices in fabric as well as letters/numbers.  Remember, if you can't sew, find someone who can.  You can prep all the stuff (including the cutting and painting) and then pass them on to someone to finish them up. 

I have a five year old niece whom I adore.  Her name is Kylie, hence the reason so many of my trial projects have a "K" on them.  She gets lots of cool things after I've made and posted them online.  She's my little test market...LOL

These are super easy square pillows that I painted on using a stencil.  Of course I remembered having a Cricut cartridge that cuts out Scrabble like blocks...so I cheated and had the Cricut do my cutting.  You can easily make these by either purchasing some letter stencils or printing your own letters and numbers and cutting out your own paper stencil.

Supplies
Fabric
Pillow form or stuffing (I stuffed these)
Stencil (I cut mine on cardstock)
Tape
Paint (preferably fabric paint)
Brush
Sewing machine & tread (unless you're commissioning a friend to sew for you)

Instructions

• Cut two pieces of fabric to either fit the size of your pillow form or to the size of pillow you wish to stuff.
• Also prepare your stencil.  I cut my with the Cricut but you can easily purchase stencils or cut your own from a piece of cardstock
• Prepare for painting
• Tape one piece of your fabric (the front) to a stable surface
• Tape your stencil(s) to your fabric.  This will keep everything secure while painting.

• Carefully begin painting your pillow.  Do no use brush strokes as it may cause the fabric to stretch and pull from underneath the stencil.  Instead, lightly load your brush with paint and tap the surface.  Be careful not to use too much paint on your brush at one time.  You don't want the paint to soak into the fabric and spread under the stencil.

• Once you've applied a sufficient amount of paint, gently remove your stencil.

• Allow the paint to dry as instructed by the paint directions.
• Place the painted front piece facing towards the back piece and stitch around on a sewing machine.  Be sure to leave an sufficient opening at the bottom of you pillow to allow for stuffing.

• If you didn't cut rounded edges on your fabric, take your scissors and carefully round off the corners after the pieces have been stitched together.  this will take some of the bulkiness out when you turn the piece inside out.
• Turn the piece inside out and begin stuffing.
• Sew up the opening and your Scrabble Piece Pillow is complete.