Everyone has really cute pictures on their fridge, usually held up by free magnets from a realty place. I love the pictures, and then secretly despise whatever realtor or dentist is on the magnet, which is probably not what their advertising department was going for. My mom for years had asked for a matching set of magnets, but it was just one of those little things that got overlooked. I was completely broke and needed a wedding present for a friend, and was looking around for ways to make pretty fridge magnets. I came across the idea of bubble magnets, I made 20 for less than $5 and had a lot of fun.
1. First, I bought those clear pebbles at the dollar store. I never had any idea what to use these for but they are pretty. They come in a range of colors and sizes.
2. Then I picked out the image I wanted to use. I was lucky enough to find stickers for a dollar. You can use just words printed from your computer, or even small pictures.
3. I super glued the word to the back of the pebble. I then glued a small round magnet to the back. They were $1.39 for 8. I tried to use cheap strip magnets or cut up magnets I already had but they weren’t strong enough.
That’s all it takes, and they make great gifts. It makes me want to buy another fridge so I have more space. An easy variation on this would be to buy river rocks at the dollar store and just glue the magnets to the back. This would look great in a rustic kitchen. Check out other great Works-for-me-Wednesday” Tips at Rocks in my Dryer.
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10:39 pm on August 8th, 2006
What a great idea! Our fridge is a collection of random magnets - from a car parts company, a photography studio, an appliance repairman, and the fire department; also an immunization reminder magnet, and one with a scripture printed on it. Needless to say, my magnet mish-mash is not exactly the elegant look that I would prefer for my home’s decor. Some day, when I get around to it, I will put this idea to work for my fridge. What a neat gift idea, too.
11:12 pm on August 8th, 2006
Very fun!! I want to try this with my kids now:) Thanks for the idea.
11:24 pm on August 8th, 2006
What a super, quick idea to replace all of those gross, free magnets. I see pretty, pretty magnets in my future!!
3:20 am on August 9th, 2006
That’s a great idea. I’ve seen those pretty little glass baubles at the Dollar store, too, and wondered what to do with them.
4:16 am on August 9th, 2006
What a beautiful, easy idea! When my little one gets old enough not to EAT the magnets, we’re going to try that!
4:55 am on August 9th, 2006
Very creative. And I think they would make great cute stocking-stuffers, too.
5:12 am on August 9th, 2006
I love making marble magnets!
I posted about my magnetic calculator and you can see some of my marble magnets in the photo!
6:20 am on August 9th, 2006
These are beautiful- what a great craft idea! Thank you for sharing!
7:45 am on August 9th, 2006
I answered you on my post, but thought I would answer you here, too!
I did make the rectangle mangets. They were magnets from Capital One, but you could do this to those business magnets (that is if you don’t need their info) by covering them with scrapbook paper
9:11 am on August 9th, 2006
I love this idea. And it’s one the kids could get into as well.
Thanks for sharing!
10:12 am on August 9th, 2006
I love that idea!
10:16 am on August 9th, 2006
I absolutely adore this idea! I would make a fun craft project for my son, as well. I also like the idea of “recycling” business magnets into something prettier.
9:43 pm on August 9th, 2006
I did this, too, for Christmas presents. Only I had issues with being able to see the magnets through the letters, so I glued letters on, then a piece of paper, and then the magenet–and I used those bigger magnets that actually hold stuff. Another thing I did was make some pretty flower ones with bits of fancy scrapbooking paper. After I did it, I found a kit for this same kind of craft in the kids section at Michael’s. Oh well! I’m all about the easy, useful crafts!
7:09 pm on September 26th, 2006
[...] A few weeks ago I posted about how to make bubble magnets from those clear marbles that you can find at dollar stores. We had a church activity where we were told to bring a glass item. Then we all sat down & glued these same pebbles to our glass items. I just used a salad bowl I got at the thrift shop for $1.50, the pebbles & glue were practically free. You could assembly line a lot of these gifts for practically nothing. Getting the pebbles to stick was a little exasperating, it’s a good thing we are not a swearing people. Super glue for glass worked the best. Another hint is to place the glue on the stone & let it set up for a few seconds before trying to place it on the glass. These aren’t dishwasher safe, but they would make great Christmas presents. We did bowls, vases, stemware, votives, candleholders, anything glass. You can do this in random patterns, or even just around the rim of the bowl. For a more elegant look, try using the clear glass pebbles. I’m addicted to gluing these baubles (they really should make a name for these, any suggestions would be appreciated) on everything in sight. I need some sort of support group to quit. Works for me! Tags: craft, diy, gift-ideas, christmas, kids-craft [...]
4:24 am on September 27th, 2006
That’s a really neat idea! And for those who post kids’ schoolwork or artwork, they could make personalized magnets for each child.
6:50 am on September 27th, 2006
This sounds like a really fun affordable idea. I just might have to do this one with my daughters for our church’s annual crafts exchange. Thanks!
7:17 am on September 27th, 2006
I like the idea of giving these as gifts. I should really start planning for Christmas!
10:21 am on September 27th, 2006
Missed this the first time, so I am SO glad you reposted it. I am going to make some of these for Christmas, I think!
11:19 am on September 27th, 2006
These are great. I make these whenever I get bored, I hate “regular” free magnets too. I love yours though, I have to go search for some word stickers!
3:57 pm on April 23rd, 2007
[...] on link and blog challenge posed an interesting quesiton… ‘if you could only do 1 craft for the rest of your life, what would it be?’ that’s an interesting question for me. [...]
4:02 pm on April 23rd, 2007
nice project! i’m going to have to try that.