Fall DIY Craft
Don’t forget to pin it for later!
Hello friends! As a mom of four kids, I always seem to have a ton of my kiddos beautiful art and sticker worthy school work that needs to be proudly displayed on the refrigerator. I am always on the look out for cute magnets to hang my little Picasso’s latest masterpieces. Shoot, even if you don’t have kids or grandkids art to hang, magnets are useful for hanging pics or grocery lists. Who can’t use magnets?! Today, I am going to show you how to create a cute budget friendly magnet made of clothes pins. These are a simple and fast craft and can even be a fun project to make with the kids or grandkids. The best part, these can be easily customized for the different seasons! Let’s get to it!
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What You Will Need
Most of the following items can be found at Amazon, Dollar Tree, or Walmart. I have included links to products on Amazon that I use, for your convenience.
Supplies List:
- wooden clothes pins
- small wooden pumpkin or leaf cut outs (or other seasonal cutout)
- magnet strips
- paint or wood stain (optional)
- hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
- super glue or other strong adhesive like E6000
How To Put Them Together
Step 1:
To start this project off you will want to paint or stain your wood clothes pins the color of your choice. I used Waverly’s Antique Wax to stain mine. This is a go to product for me. You will see I use it a lot to stain and distress projects. I love the color and it doesn’t have the strong smell that traditional stain has. This step is an optional one. You can also choose to keep the clothes pins their natural wood color.
Step 2:
Next, I take my small wood cut outs and paint them. The ones I use here are from the Dollar Tree and they were already painted. These come in a pack and have a small sticker on the back. I just pull that sticker off. The pack comes with different size pumpkins and they have some packs with jack-o-lanterns, bats, and witch’s hats for Halloween. They also carry a Christmas pack so you can make these to change out for the different holidays! Keep your eyes peeled for those in the upcoming months. l also like to lightly distress around the edges of my wood cut out. I prefer a more rustic aged look so I distress a lot. If you prefer a cleaner look then skip this step. It’s all about creating something that fits your style and makes you happy!
Step 3:
After you have your clothes pins and wood cut outs painted and distressed to your liking, it is time to attach them together. As I said earlier, if you are using the Dollar Tree wood cut outs, just pull that sticker off the back. For this step, I like to use hot glue because it sets fast. If you are making these with kiddos and don’t want to use hot glue, wood glue or tacky glue will work too. You just have to give it time to set up before moving on to the last step. To attach these together, just put a bit of glue (hot glue or other) on the back of your wood cut out and place it on the handle end of your clothes pin. Easy peasy! Just watch those finger tips with the hot glue! I never seem to be able to complete a project that uses hot glue without burning at least one finger!
Step 4:
The final step in this project is attaching the magnet. I am using the 1/2 inch magnet strip that comes in a roll. These magnets rolls are very inexpensive and you can find them at Dollar Tree, Walmart, Amazon, or any craft store. You will want to cut a small strip to fit on the back of the magnet. I cut mine about 1 1/2 inches. The 1/2 inch wide roll that I had was slightly too wide for my clothes pin, so I just trimmed it down to size with my scissors. It is very easy to cut.
Tip: the magnet is going to want to curl from being rolled up. Take and bend it as straight as you can get it before gluing. It will make gluing easier.
Once you have your magnets cut to size, you can begin gluing them on the back side of your clothes pin. Now, these rolls of magnets have a self adhesive side but it will not be strong enough to hold up. For this, I recommend using a combination of hot glue and a stronger adhesive such as super glue or E6000. The hot glue gives you a quick hold while the E6000 or super glue gives you a stronger long lasting hold. When I first started making these, I used hot glue only and it did not work out. It just wasn’t strong enough to hold and eventually the magnet would come loose. Once again, watch out with the hot glue and your fingers! Any excess will easily ooze out the sides. If this occurs, just wipe off the excess glue with a rag.
That’s it! You are done!
Now just add to your fridge and enjoy! I have been making these magnets for years. They are really so handy and hold up great. Teachers, these magnets are also very useful in the classroom! If you try these please leave me a comment and let me know what you think! You can also pop over to my Facebook page and post a pic of your completed project. I love seeing all your Primrose Lane Prims inspired projects!
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Thanks friends! Until next time.
-Sarah