Ahhh, Magnets. One of the most useful craft supplies around. Who doesn’t love magnets? I particularly love those little business card ones you can get in the Yellow Pages — they’re fun to alter and craft into a unique decorative magnet. Reader Jen G. asked on our Facebook page: These thin, 3in x 4in magnets were destined for the trash, but I saved them. Now which crafty projects can I make with them? Please share your ideas with me!
Jen’s magnets are a little larger than regular business card magnets, so what can she do with them?
Heather Mann is chief editor of Dollar Store Crafts, and specializes in transforming inexpensive materials into stylish and simple craft projects. She has appeared on the Martha Stewart Show, in Reader’s Digest and the New York Times. DSC has been recognized as named one of Babble.com’s Top 10 Best Overall Craft Blogs (2011 & 2012) and Apartment Therapy’s 10 Crafty Blogs We Love (2010). Her work has been viewed by millions on the cover of FamilyFun magazine and on top websites such as RealSimple, Huffington Post, ABCNews.com, and others.
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Wow! That is a big stack of magnets! You could make a ton of crafty things with them! Right now I’m working on fun Valentine magnets with my boys’ pictures to add to their cute little metal Valentine mail boxes.
You could make magnetic picture frames by cutting out the center (and maybe even a pretty scalloped edge around the outside, too?) and then mod podging pretty scrapbook paper onto it.
You could paint them with chalkboard paint and make little erasable note spots
Erin-Joi
1. Use punches to punch circles for to use on flat backed marbles for pretty magnets.
2. Cut into strips to use on the back of paper crafts to turn into magnets
3. attach to the back of calendars to put on fridge or other metal surface (My office door is metal)
4. print out words, glue to magnets, cut apart. Instant magnet poetry with whatever words you need
I have used the ones that come in the mail or get left on my mailbox for many uses. These are great for recycled crafts.
Rochelle
Cut it in half the hot dog way to make two strips. Then take a hot glue gun and glue them picture side down the the inside door of a medicine cabinet. BAM! Bobby pin keeper! :)
There are so many fun things you could do with these spare magnets. You might want to test a variety of glues though. I’ve tried using similar magnets for projects and anything I’ve glued to them have just peeled off. Perhaps you could peel off some of the shiny advertisement bit first?
Oh I have a similar stack and I haven’t done anything with mine, I’m going to follow comments for ideas too. I have chalkboard paint, that could be fun if it sticks!
You can make magnetic paper dolls! I’ve done this before. Draw a small person (like a gingerbread man if you prefer) on a flesh toned paper. Then, cut out and glue to the magnet (or magnets if you want to go big). Use spray adhesive to glue to multiple magnets and then trim off excess when dry. Use fun scrapbook paper to make little outfits and then adhere to magnets, trim off excess, repeat until you have a ton of outfits. It’s so much fun for little ones to play with on the fridge while you cook dinner. :)
Monique
My mum uses them to make bookmarks. She cuts out smallish rectangles out of old cards (or use plain and decorate) folds them in half and then glues a strip of the magnet on each end. Then it fits over the page and the magnets “stick” together and your bookmark doesn’t fall out. (My mum makes lots of these because my dad keeps forgetting to take them out of the book when he returns it to the library.)
Robin
love the magnetic paper doll idea! now all I need is a stack of these magnets!
Julie
I used a several of these by simply gluing photos to the front of my mother’s grandchildren and great grandchildren for her to put on her refrigerator. It was one of her favorite gifts. The kids are in another state, but when they come to visit they love the fact they are on her refrigerator and they know that she is thinking about them even when they aren’t there.
I’ve actually done a post about this, but I use scrapbook supplies to make magnets with quotes I love, use some archival double sided tape to adhere school photos to them for the fridge, I have one as a “clean/dirty” sign on my dishwasher….there’s a ton of uses for these!
Rachel
I actually used up a bunch of magnets like that on fridge magnet letters. If you go to a scrap booking store you can buy a bunch of fancy letters or make your own! It was tons of fun!
You could glue/decoupage/something words from magazines over them and cut them out for doing that magnet poetry that used to be popular in the 90’s.
Sara
You could cut them to size to fit your make-up and then keep all your current make-up supplies on a magnetic tray hung on the wall. I think I may do this someday! Here is a pinterest about it: https://pinterest.com/pin/93379392243509072/
Lynn H
I did the paper doll idea but I bought a book of paper dolls at Hobby Lobby. Then my son took pictures of my #1 Grand daughter standing straight looking directly at the camera. We Photoshopped her head onto one of the paper doll bodies printed it and glued the dolls to magnetic paper. (along with clothes and hair etc.) Cut the dolls and dresses out, and wait for the surprise when she notices that SHE is one of the dolls~ Oh we put it all in a metal cookie container from Christmas so she will be able to store the pieces in the container and use the top to hold her creations. Can’t wait until I done and can give them to her!
Lynn H
lki
Lisa
I peel the top layer off of the “phone book” magnets, so only white paper is showing. Then I give them to my kids to color on. You can seal them with a top coat of your choice. It makes wonderful, manageable, refrigerator art!
Make simple felt needle cases — maybe in the Valentine’s theme, and glue the magnets to the inside. Cheap, simple gift for the ladies in your life, like the Coffee Lady or the Mail Lady or….. Mount it to a card that says something cheezy, like I’m Stuck On You.
love2dream
For a boy version of the “paper doll” magnets: A solar system theme. Use a cookie tin and cut out a variety of background scenes (starry sky, moon’s surface, galaxy, etc– scrapbook paper or color print from internet) Cut out space ships, planets, aliens, the Sun, moonwalkers, spacestations, aliens, asteroids, shooting comets, etc. The dollar store almost always has science picture books that you could cut up!
Sade
I got a stack like that, too. What I did, as a mother of three kids, two of which are or are about to begin their school, was that I covered the magnets with sticker sheets and cut them up as letters and numbers, slapped them onto the fridge door. The kids love it, even my youngest, who’s barely even three.
Get a cheap bag of clothes pin, decorate the front and put magnets on the back. Perfect little note holders for your fridge. Also, you can make a whole set and give them to a friend as a small gift.
Sharon Traxler
For my bead weaving, I’ve found they fit inside the lid of a Sucrets can (the sore throat lozenge) and hold my needles, thread & beads!
Jeanine Padilla
When the kids’ school pictures come in, I glue them to the magnet cards or I use the magnets from the front of the yellow page books. I do the same thing with our family photos – I just glue the photos to the magnet and let them dry. Then I send them to family members. Everyone loves them because they don’t have to do anything – they just put them on the refridgerator!
Betty
When i got some of these I drew alien parts on them. 5 heads, five torsos, and five legs. Then i lit my daughter mix and match. She had a lot of fun with this. I kept them in a tin and she would play this game in the car on the tin.
Lisa
Glue them to the inside of an Altoid Tin and make a magnetic needle/pin holder. Spray paint the Tin.
AMY Strzala
You could put them all together and mod podge a picture to the and cut them into puzzle pieces to keep kids that can be reassembled on the fridge to keep little ones busy during dinner cooking time. Another idea is to use the as word flash cards for learning to read. That’s how my mom taught me to read by age four
She would put a new word on the fridge and when I learned it a new one would go up.
29 Comments
Kelli
Wow! That is a big stack of magnets! You could make a ton of crafty things with them! Right now I’m working on fun Valentine magnets with my boys’ pictures to add to their cute little metal Valentine mail boxes.
Carissa
You could make magnetic picture frames by cutting out the center (and maybe even a pretty scalloped edge around the outside, too?) and then mod podging pretty scrapbook paper onto it.
You could paint them with chalkboard paint and make little erasable note spots
Erin-Joi
1. Use punches to punch circles for to use on flat backed marbles for pretty magnets.
2. Cut into strips to use on the back of paper crafts to turn into magnets
3. attach to the back of calendars to put on fridge or other metal surface (My office door is metal)
4. print out words, glue to magnets, cut apart. Instant magnet poetry with whatever words you need
I have used the ones that come in the mail or get left on my mailbox for many uses. These are great for recycled crafts.
Rochelle
Cut it in half the hot dog way to make two strips. Then take a hot glue gun and glue them picture side down the the inside door of a medicine cabinet. BAM! Bobby pin keeper! :)
Emily
There are so many fun things you could do with these spare magnets. You might want to test a variety of glues though. I’ve tried using similar magnets for projects and anything I’ve glued to them have just peeled off. Perhaps you could peel off some of the shiny advertisement bit first?
tiffany
You could make play scenes out of them by cutting out pictures from magazines, gluing the magnets on back.
Or you could cut out pictures of people from real photographs and put magnets on the back. :)
Heather
Oh I have a similar stack and I haven’t done anything with mine, I’m going to follow comments for ideas too. I have chalkboard paint, that could be fun if it sticks!
Nessa The Procrastinator
You can make magnetic paper dolls! I’ve done this before. Draw a small person (like a gingerbread man if you prefer) on a flesh toned paper. Then, cut out and glue to the magnet (or magnets if you want to go big). Use spray adhesive to glue to multiple magnets and then trim off excess when dry. Use fun scrapbook paper to make little outfits and then adhere to magnets, trim off excess, repeat until you have a ton of outfits. It’s so much fun for little ones to play with on the fridge while you cook dinner. :)
Monique
My mum uses them to make bookmarks. She cuts out smallish rectangles out of old cards (or use plain and decorate) folds them in half and then glues a strip of the magnet on each end. Then it fits over the page and the magnets “stick” together and your bookmark doesn’t fall out. (My mum makes lots of these because my dad keeps forgetting to take them out of the book when he returns it to the library.)
Robin
love the magnetic paper doll idea! now all I need is a stack of these magnets!
Julie
I used a several of these by simply gluing photos to the front of my mother’s grandchildren and great grandchildren for her to put on her refrigerator. It was one of her favorite gifts. The kids are in another state, but when they come to visit they love the fact they are on her refrigerator and they know that she is thinking about them even when they aren’t there.
Sara
I’ve actually done a post about this, but I use scrapbook supplies to make magnets with quotes I love, use some archival double sided tape to adhere school photos to them for the fridge, I have one as a “clean/dirty” sign on my dishwasher….there’s a ton of uses for these!
Rachel
I actually used up a bunch of magnets like that on fridge magnet letters. If you go to a scrap booking store you can buy a bunch of fancy letters or make your own! It was tons of fun!
I have my example on craftster here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=387406.0
Florencia
I “stick” stickers from my childs dentist and doctor office.
David Millar
You could glue/decoupage/something words from magazines over them and cut them out for doing that magnet poetry that used to be popular in the 90’s.
Sara
You could cut them to size to fit your make-up and then keep all your current make-up supplies on a magnetic tray hung on the wall. I think I may do this someday! Here is a pinterest about it: https://pinterest.com/pin/93379392243509072/
Lynn H
I did the paper doll idea but I bought a book of paper dolls at Hobby Lobby. Then my son took pictures of my #1 Grand daughter standing straight looking directly at the camera. We Photoshopped her head onto one of the paper doll bodies printed it and glued the dolls to magnetic paper. (along with clothes and hair etc.) Cut the dolls and dresses out, and wait for the surprise when she notices that SHE is one of the dolls~ Oh we put it all in a metal cookie container from Christmas so she will be able to store the pieces in the container and use the top to hold her creations. Can’t wait until I done and can give them to her!
Lynn H
lki
Lisa
I peel the top layer off of the “phone book” magnets, so only white paper is showing. Then I give them to my kids to color on. You can seal them with a top coat of your choice. It makes wonderful, manageable, refrigerator art!
Aj / Melia
I cut pretty scenes and such from calendars, cards and such then glue them to the magnets with spray adhesive.
LizA
Make simple felt needle cases — maybe in the Valentine’s theme, and glue the magnets to the inside. Cheap, simple gift for the ladies in your life, like the Coffee Lady or the Mail Lady or….. Mount it to a card that says something cheezy, like I’m Stuck On You.
love2dream
For a boy version of the “paper doll” magnets: A solar system theme. Use a cookie tin and cut out a variety of background scenes (starry sky, moon’s surface, galaxy, etc– scrapbook paper or color print from internet) Cut out space ships, planets, aliens, the Sun, moonwalkers, spacestations, aliens, asteroids, shooting comets, etc. The dollar store almost always has science picture books that you could cut up!
Sade
I got a stack like that, too. What I did, as a mother of three kids, two of which are or are about to begin their school, was that I covered the magnets with sticker sheets and cut them up as letters and numbers, slapped them onto the fridge door. The kids love it, even my youngest, who’s barely even three.
Ashley N Newell
Get a cheap bag of clothes pin, decorate the front and put magnets on the back. Perfect little note holders for your fridge. Also, you can make a whole set and give them to a friend as a small gift.
Sharon Traxler
For my bead weaving, I’ve found they fit inside the lid of a Sucrets can (the sore throat lozenge) and hold my needles, thread & beads!
Jeanine Padilla
When the kids’ school pictures come in, I glue them to the magnet cards or I use the magnets from the front of the yellow page books. I do the same thing with our family photos – I just glue the photos to the magnet and let them dry. Then I send them to family members. Everyone loves them because they don’t have to do anything – they just put them on the refridgerator!
Betty
When i got some of these I drew alien parts on them. 5 heads, five torsos, and five legs. Then i lit my daughter mix and match. She had a lot of fun with this. I kept them in a tin and she would play this game in the car on the tin.
Lisa
Glue them to the inside of an Altoid Tin and make a magnetic needle/pin holder. Spray paint the Tin.
AMY Strzala
You could put them all together and mod podge a picture to the and cut them into puzzle pieces to keep kids that can be reassembled on the fridge to keep little ones busy during dinner cooking time. Another idea is to use the as word flash cards for learning to read. That’s how my mom taught me to read by age four
She would put a new word on the fridge and when I learned it a new one would go up.