Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Funky Clothespin Magnets

I love to browse "high-end" gifty-type stores and see what I can duplicate for way less than they're charging.  A few months ago while browsing such a shop with friends I saw these adorable magnet clips being sold for a ridiculous price and thought, "I can do that!".

First I gathered pretty papers (This is a GREAT way to use up small pieces of scrapbooking paper!) which would help me determine what color I was going to spray paint the clips.  I decided black was pretty safe to use with anything although I did use silver on some clips that had silver accents in the paper.  I put the clips in a cardboard box and sprayed several times, rotating, turning, etc. until all surfaces were covered.

I cut the papers slightly longer than the length of the clothespin so I could wrap the ends inside of the clip and applied with Mod Podge.  Once dry I coated each with a few layers of Mod Podge to seal and give a nice, finished look.  Finally, I added gems, pearls or other accents and a magnet to the back.  (Hint:  Get the teeny, tiny, super strong mini magnets for a very reasonable price on Ebay.  Much better than the thick, black ones you'll find in most craft stores.)

Since I was giving these as gifts, I created little cards using the same papers and clipped 5 clothespin magnets to each card.  Great to have little gifts like this on hand to give as hostess gifts when invited to a friend's house for dinner, etc.!

7 comments:

  1. i agree, great idea to have a few on hand when you need a cute gift for someone!

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  2. These are "wonderfully made"! I especially like the black and white ones. I love crafts that help clean up my scrap paper pile! Thank you for sharing! Found you on Thrifty Decorating.
    p.s. Following you now too!

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  3. Those are really cute. Love the idea. I am your latest follower. I would love for you to come and check out my blog and follow me back at www.diybydesign.blogspot.com. Thanks so much.

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  4. Too Funny!! We must be on the same wavy length because I did a tutorial on these too!! Check it out:

    http://www.thegunnysack.com/2011/03/covered-clothespin-magnets-tutorial.html

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