Makin' Magnets

Nope, this isn't a post about how to actually make something magnetic that isn't already. Instead, this is a post about how to reuse old magnets you might have lying around.

 I decided to use some awesome scrapbook stickers that I had on hand. I'd been wondering for quite some time how to put these to use. In the foreground, you can see the magnet I started with. I like to use magnetic list pads in the kitchen to keep track of groceries I need and tasks around the house I have to do. When the paper is gone, this ugly magnet remains!

 These six magnets are the ones I made! (Please excuse the blue magnet interloper!)

One of the coolest things about this project is that it doesn't really matter much what shape you cut the magnet into, as long as all of its edges are within the confines of the sticker. So, I did my best to hack apart this thick piece of magnet with regular scissors, and this is the result.

 For the magnets that are covered by the gold flowers, I actually used a different magnet for the back: a super thin, flexible magnet that was initially an advertisement sent to me by a business. I suspect you have at least a few magnets like this in your house, unless you've thrown them away already! I didn't need the magnet to remind me of the business's phone number, so I included it in this project.

 After finding an interesting metal board at JoAnn's, and making these magnets, I packed the whole thing up and brought it down to my cubicle. The tech staff just recently put a new computer on my desk that's a little bit of a different shape than the old one, so I found myself with some free space for a little more decor.

And here's the final finished product! I had a couple of beautiful cards (both of which were sent to me by Violet) that complement the color of the board and magnets. This project was super simple! You can use the magnets on any metallic surface: a file cabinet, a mirror, a pizza pan, or even a refrigerator. Plus its nice to find a creative reuse for otherwise dull magnets that might end up in a landfill.