Back in April I was reading my friend Hola Isabel's blog and she was strapped for cash and looking at her calendar realizing she needed to make something cheap and quick for Mother's Day. She decided to make photo magnets. It was one of those moments where I slapped my head and thought to myself; "How can you forget all these fun crafts!???" It's true though - once your kids get older you don't do or look for 'fun crafts' like you do when they are young and some of great ideas or crafts you had years ago slip right out of your brain. This is one of them. So a huge thank you to her for reminding me because this week it came in handy!!!

This weekend we are celebrating the birthdays of not only my FIL but my Grandmother as well. They are both turning 80! What do you get someone turning 80? They 'want' nothing. They 'need' nothing and frankly they are giving away everything they can as they try to declutter their homes. ("Here dear, take this waffle iron. I bought that back in 1956... haven't used it since oh, 1972 maybe? But I'm sure it still works!) Our relatives do enjoy photos of the kids and our family though, and they both use refrigerator magnets so this was the best of both worlds.


I bought clear craft glue, 2 packages of strong magnets and clear glass 'stones' I found in the floral aisle. Actually I had to buy the stones at the dollar store because Walmart and Michaels didn't have the large size. I think a good craft store would have better quality stones, though these worked just fine.


The most important step is your photo. Choose pictures that are small in size so the persons whole head will fit in the finished stone magnet. Do not use photos you have ran off yourself on an ink jet printer as the ink will run when you apply the glue.

I uploaded the photos I wanted to use to Walmart.com and used 1 hour photo so I could run to the store and pick them already printed for me. Each of the stones are shaped a little bit differently so do one at a time and draw a light circle on the photo, tracing around the stone.

Now cut out the photo, cutting about 3/8 of an inch inside the line. You want your photo to be smaller than the stone so no photo edges stick out of the back.

I wasn't sure if I should use pure glue or a little water mixed in to thin it so I opted to use a half teaspoon of water to a teaspoon of glue. I don't know if there is a wrong way or right way but when I make these again I may skip the water and just glue.


Press the photo to the stone, photo face side up to the stones flat back. Press firmly to 'smoosh' the glue. Lay on foil or parchment to dry completely.

Using either a hot glue gun or gorilla glue, attach a magnet to the back of each. Be sure you have bought good quality strong magnets because the stones are too heavy for thin magnet paper or strips.

It will take about 2 days to dry completely. Until then the photos may look a little cloudy but they dry crystal clear and ready for giving or sticking on the refrigerator or any metal surface.


This is an excellent project for Father's Day! Give Dad some magnets he can take to work and attach to his file cabinet so he can look at you all day long!