Thursday, October 25, 2007

DIY Fridge magnets and pushpins - tutorial

(Be sure to upload your photos from trying this project into the Brassy Apple Projects Flickr group!)

I love taking fabric and using it on other fun crafting projects besides just sewing or what you would typically expect. I have several projects I have done over the last couple of months and thought I would share them with you! So if you - or your kids - are itching for a little DIY project, here's a great one for the whole family!



Fridge magnets and pushpins



step 1: gathering the supplies - you will need largecrafting "bubbles" with one side that is flat. You can use any size you like. Magnets - make sure your magnets are large enough to support the size of your bubbles. If they are too small the finished magnet will slowly slide down your refrigerator when you try to use it to actually hold any papers. Small pushpins with a flat head if possible. Craft glue - I prefer E600 - it's great for many projects, is clear and dries fast too. And then of course your fabrics or patterned scrapbooking type papers if you don't have fabrics on hand. Scissors, and something to trace with - I like using a fabric marker. Fusible interfacing or fusible fleece - optional.

Step 2: Layout your fabrics and place your bubbles
over top moving it around until you find a pattern that you like. Cut around the pattern in a small square and continue with as many fabrics and patterns for the magnets that you want to make. Optional step: Fuse interfacing or fleece to the back of your precut squares on the wrong side of the fabric. This will give the back of your magnets a finished look and keep the fabric from fraying when you cut it and use your magnets.





Step 3: Trace around your bubble and cut out your circle. Repeat with all your cut squares.














Step 4: Using a toothpick, squeeze out some glue and use the toothpick to apply it to the right side of your fabric. Place a nice medium sized glop in the center of the circle. Take your bubble and place it on top of the glue and press firmly and evenly down. The glue will race for the outside edges - be sure to push out any or as many glue bubbles as you can. Set aside to dry and repeat until finished.










Step 5: Using craft or hot glue adhere
your magnets to the back and place them right side up to dry. Remember to use a large enough magnet for the size of your craft bubble.















Step 6: Once dry they can dot your fridge, metal file cabinet, etc. Another great idea is to place them in a small container like an altoids tin, wrap it up with some ribbon and you have a great personalized gift to give away! Enjoy!













Push pins




To make push pins for your bulletin board simple
use the smaller size craft bubbles and follow steps 1 - 4 as outlined above. Then, instead of gluing a magnet to the back glue a flat headed push pin. Set pin side up to dry.









If you give this project a try be sure to let me know, send pictures or blog about it too and post the link so we can all check out your handwork!

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Megan....waht a great idea! Where do you get the glass bubbles from and what size are they?

Thanks,
Jill/My Turtle Baby

Megan/Brassy Apple said...

Thanks Jill. You can actually pick up the smaller bubbles from many stores - even walmart. The large sized ones I had to actually go to a craft store like Michaels to find them. They measure about 1.5 inches across.

Also, another tip is to use magazines too! My kids found several fun images of their favorite characters from T.V. and toys to use. It's fun to hang their artwork on the fridge for them with a favorite magnet too!

Megan/Brassy Apple said...

My sister also found some "cube" shaped clear "bubbles" - they look like small ice cubes - and those work great for push pins too b/c they easy to grab for little fingers.

Kelly | Fabulous K said...

That is such a fabulous idea :) I think I will try them this weekend!

Tayasmama said...

Oh CUTE! I will have to try these :)

My Trendy Tykes said...

Great stuff! I am going to give it a go. Will post pics when I am done.

Linda

Unknown said...

Thanks for the great idea, I think I will make some to add to Christmas gift bags for Miss Kay's teachers.

Anonymous said...

thanks for showing us the tutorial never did it with fabric before...love to be able to do that ..so thank you sooo much...Jennifer

Megan/Brassy Apple said...

Sure Jennifer! Love your fabric! As you can see I used it on as the example ;)

I bet you could create all day! Have fun!

Anonymous said...

I know Im late on this post but I love this idea BIG TIME!!! How inexpensive and unique. Last yr. I took different, unique buttons and made magnets for my kids teachers but I love the fact that with these the sky is the limit with fabric. The buttons are fun but the buttons that I really loved were EXPENSIVE..lol...With a tiny bit of fabric you could go hog wild and what teacher doesnt need fun push pins and magnets????

Anonymous said...

These would be perfect to go with my monogram message board I started! I will give it a whirl and post the results. I really need a craft fix.

Artifax said...

Gosh, I just love this idea! I have lots of little fabic scraps and this would be a great use for them!

Thank you!!

Megan/Brassy Apple said...

Yeah! I'm so glad everyone is excited! the possibilities are endless! We have made several and I have mixed fabric with printed materials.

Race Mom - I've done a few monogramed ones too! Can't wait to see what you come up with! Be sure to stop back by and post a link so we can all see!!

Anonymous said...

I just found everything I need for this project in one place! (Minus the fabric.)

http://www.stainedglassoriginals.com/bubblemagnets.html

Megan/Brassy Apple said...

So perfect! thanks for posting that!!!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

This is not only very adorable...but very creative...Meg you always come up with the most unique things! You should just open a whole new website just featuring you crafts besides from you designs!

Megan/Brassy Apple said...

thanks Tuesdai!

Missy said...

I have been making these magnets for awhile now - but only with paper, not fabric. What a great twist! Thanks for sharing!
Missy

Melanie @ This Ain't New York said...

Love the magnet idea! How cool is that?!

Megan/Brassy Apple said...

thank you Melanie!

and thanks to the Rocks in my Dryer blog for posting about this tutorial and linking it to here!

Megan/Brassy Apple said...

Oops! wanted to post their link too

http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/

Jynell said...

I made these a few years ago as a gift to my & my husbands grandparents, but instead of fabric, I used pictures of my kids!! They turned out really cute & the grandparents (who are normally difficult to buy for b/c they already have everything...) LOVED the magnets!! It was something they could use & it was unique & special at the same time.

Laume said...

http://laumesstudio.blogspot.com/2007/09/i-found-bit-of-crafting-time-last-night.html
Great minds think alike, as they say. I like the idea of using fabric.

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Clothmatters said...

Wonderful blog and great ideas. I will certainly bookmark this blog for future visits.
Connie

Mymsie said...

I did this project awhile ago but most of the glass blobs I got at Michael's and Hobby Lobby were scratched.

Anonymous said...

These are SOOO cute! I love them!

ohradiogirl said...

Love these and the tutorial. I've made some in the past and I created cute little designs on the computer and printed them out. I also made personalized magnets using short names. I'll have to try the E6000 glue. I need something that sticks securely. I'd be truly embarrassed if I knew that one of my projects fell apart.

Sheri said...

I've featured your link on my site, and the popularity of the post has earned a spot in this week's top 10! Thanks for posting! And well done!

Mascottblog said...

Very nice ! I will certainly tru one day ... And will let you know!

Mascottblog said...

Very nice ! I will certainly try one day ... And will let you know!

Hobbies and Crafts said...

Love this page! I made these some years ago and got carried away, they were so much fun, and made a bunch of them! I'm glad to find instructions online for them this year, and I hoped to share your page on my blog. I think it's a great resource, thanks!

Anna said...

I used family photos to make these as Christmas gifts. Thank you so much for the great idea!

Unknown said...

What glue (other than hot glue) do you use to glue the pins/buttons on?

Unknown said...

This is really a amazing article about the custom magnets. Custom magnets are commonly used magnets. These are good advertising tools because they can be seen on a daily basis.

Unknown said...

Good to know about the fridge magnetic push pins, and also the great information and the facts about it is also good to read.

Unknown said...

The blog was absolutely fantastic, Lot of information is helpful in some or the other way. Keep updating the blog, looking forward for more content…. Great job, keep it up.
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Rajan Mhatre said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Digital Printing said...

All the steps were Clearly Explained. Very Innovative Craft!

thomasjack said...

Such a great post I like it very much keep it up.
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Unknown said...

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