Four Wise Guys: Clutter Crusher Magnets!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Clutter Crusher Magnets!

Here's a project that I shared on the Momenta blog earlier this week!

Our refrigerator has a habit of collecting stuff... LOTS of stuff. Between the school lunch menu, our menu, the ever present (and growing) shopping list, the kids' artwork and photos of those we love, it always is a mess. So, I needed a way to start organizing (and limiting!) the items that are going to be displayed there. I decided that magnets were the way to go!

First, I stopped at the "home improvement store" just down the road and picked up a square of ceramic tiles. They were all connected (for ease of putting them on the wall, i'm sure), but were on clearance for $3.00. And there were enough to make 16 magnets! (Dear friends who are reading this, you will be receiving magnets for your next birthday....and Christmas!).
Here's what you need:

Ceramic Tiles, Xyron (or strong adhesive), Squares of your favorite Momenta paper (for these tiles, I used paper that was 1 3/4" square), Mod-Podge, paintbrush, magnets, chipboard and/or stickers, sandpaper, craft knife (not pictured).

First, break apart your tiles. It's easy, just bend and pull. Easy peasy!

Now, you need to remove the gummy stuff that held the tiles together. Just a quick swipe of your craft knife and a few swishes of the sand paper and it's gone!

See, they're all pretty now!

Now, run your pre-cut Momenta papers through a Xyron, or apply a strong adhesive to the back and apply to your tiles.

Once all of the tiles are covered with paper, put a nice layer (or two, or three) of Mod-Podge. It dries really quickly, so just grab a quick snack and you'll be ready to go!

Now, it's time to add what you want to the front of the magnet. I added mine while the Mod-Podge was still tacky just to help hold the stickers on for ever and ever. I made one for the school lunch menu (eat), one for our menu, the to-do list, the shopping list, and E for my daughter's creations, a C for my son's creations, and a few hearts to display those we love!

Finally, just add the magnet strips to the back! These are just peel and stick! **Note: I ended up adding a third strip of magnet because of the weight of the tile.