M is for Magnet Mania

So my bestest Megan and I have both started getting quite crafty lately, if I do say so myself. She saw an idea for some photo coasters. You take a plain tile, add a photo to it, spray a sealant over the top, and poof! Personalized coasters! After thinking about it, I was like, welllll that'll scratch the table, so I'd have to get some cork board or felt as well. I prefer to craft, or cook, with as little ingredients as possible. The less random things I have to buy, the better.


I'm not sure if I dreamed it, or thought of it right as I was falling asleep. But I dreamed that I made mini photo coasters, and they were magnets! And now that my gift magnets have been delivered, I can tell you how I made them!


I found 2x2 inch tiles at Lowes. Got a whole sheet of em, 36 or so, for like $3. I picked photos on my computer, put the in a Word document, and adjusted their size to 2x2. It's great to have your own printer, because I don't know many, ok, any, Walgreens that will print a picture exactly 2x2, trust me, I tried.

Cut out the photo. I scored the tiles with scissors, just to make sure the photos would stay stuck. Sorry for my crappy lighting!

If you haven't heard of Mod Podge, then you must be living under a non-craft world rock. People use this stuff for EVERYTHING. It's like decoupage glue stuff. I've never used it, but I know you're supposed to spray a clear acrylic sealant over it, and that's just one more ingredient I would have to buy. *FACT ALERT* Did you know Mod Podge will actually burn through your pictures after an unknown amount of time? At least that's what the craft store lady told me. So she recommended this Glue N' Seal, especially for photos, and you don't have to buy a sealant, because it's built in!

Apply a thin layer to the tile, and stick on your picture. Tip from Kelsey's mistake: Emphasis on the thin, it will wrinkle up if you use too much. Then I flipped the tile over so the weight of the tile helped the photo stick, and let it dry overnight.

The next day, you can take scissors, and some sandpaper (I used a small grit sanding stone), and cut off the excess photo paper. With the sanding stone, you can gently shave the photo down so it's flush with the tile. Such a neat trick if I do say so myself :)  

Next I glued the magnet to the back, so that when I go to add a coat of sealant, I don't seal it to the table. The magnet lifts the tile off the counter so nicely!

Now its time for some sealin! Apply another thin layer to the tile. I was sure to run my sponge brush along all of the edges as well. Don't want the edges to come loose! And whichever way you brush the glue, make sure it's neat and tidy, because you will see faint brush strokes when the glue dries. It starts out cloudy, but dries clear, so don't panic if you can't see your pictures after a coat of glue.

As you can see I didn't follow my own rule on this example tile, and glued the magnet on after I sealed it. Don't worry, it only stuck a little bit! 

 Finished product yay!

I made a whole herd of them for our fridge :) The perfect way to make your fridge personalized, and practical!