Bubble Magnets

Chances are you've already seen these kind of magnets elsewhere in the blogosphere, but these are so much fun to make (and so easy on the wallet) that I just had to share!

Bubble Magnets are one of my favorite things to give people. Each one is different and they add flair to your fridge. I can't tell you how many of these I have on my refrigerator right now. I've given them as gifts to my friends and family for holidays, and I've even given them as bridesmaids gifts - everyone loves them!

I know there are many sellers on Etsy.com that sell images to use for projects like this, but I prefer to use magazines because 1. you probably already have a pile of magazines sitting around somewhere already and 2. the images are going to be much more unique and diverse.

Supplies:

 

Round glass rocks from a craft store (I get a big bag of them for a buck at the Dollar Tree)
Magazines
Mod Podge
Scissors
Round magnets
Super glue
Paint brush

Let's get started!

Your goal is to find images that fit within your glass rocks that also look good. Busy patterns are usually distracting, and dark images won't show up well. Take a rock and, as you're thumbing through your magazines, place it on top of different images to see if the image would look good for your magnet.


These are all examples of good images to use:

They are interesting and small enough to fit within the confines of the magnet. The colors are also bright enough to show through the glass, which can sometimes be cloudy.

When you find a good image, cut both the image and a large amount of the background around it out. You can trace around your rock then cut your image out or do what I do (which might be a bit lazy because I don't feel like tracing.) Hold your glass rock on top of the image, making sure it's centered exactly how you want it. Firmly pinch your image and rock between your pointer and thumb, then take your scissors and carefully cut around the rock. Like I said, this is definitely the lazy way of doing it, but it works for me :)

When you're finished, you should have a round little image in the shape of the rock you are holding.

Next, take your Mod Podge and paintbrush and apply a thin layer of the Mod Podge to the front of your image. Press it onto your rock and press out any air bubbles. Your image might look a little "glue-y" (like my picture below) but don't worry, it will dry clear. Apply a thin layer of the Mod Podge to the back of your image to seal. Let dry.

After the Mod Podge has dried, use your super glue to attach one of the round magnets to the back of your glass rock. Let dry.

*A note about glue: use super glue and NOT a glue gun. I used a glue gun at first, and if your bubble magnets ever fall off your fridge (and if you have a 2-year-old like me they will) the magnet will pop right off when they hit the ground. I've had to re-glue most of my magnets that I've used a glue gun on.

Now pimp your fridge with your new magnets!

Linking up:

Show and Tell Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design

3 years

Today is my 3rd anniversary! I still can't believe it's been 3 years since I stood at the altar and said "I do" (actually, I said "I will" on accident).

I can honestly say I couldn't have found a better match.For those of you who don't know, we met through mutual friends and bonded after a friend's birthday party when Patrick broke out in a chorus of "Afternoon Delight" Anchorman-style, and I harmonized along with him. Obviously meant to be, right? 4 months later, we were engaged and Afternoon Delight consequently was the song we walked down the aisle to after we were pronounced husband and wife.

Not sure if many people knew the story behind the song, we got a lot of strange looks. We're a little strange though, so it fit.

Sense of humor has always been very important to me, and it's one of the things that attracted me to Patrick. It's not often you can find someone just as weird as you. We laugh together every day. And I love that.

(Connor looks a little worried that he's related to us. I'm sure I'll totally regret posting this picture later.)

It's true what everyone says, time drags and drags until your wedding day arrives, then it flies by in an instant. 3 years later, we are still just as in love, if not more, and we have 2 wonderful children (and plans for 1 more in the future.) I'm so grateful that we have each other and that one day, we can be that cute old couple holding hands on the porch - harmonizing to "Afternoon Delight" no doubt.

Buzz Buzz

Last year before Connor was born, Pat, Haley and I made a trip to Pittsburgh to visit family. While we were there, we went to this awesome fabric shop called "LOOM". The store is a candyland of amazing designer fabrics. I would live there if I could. While I love my local fabric store, there's just something about browsing a giant store full of adorable designer fabrics that make a girl want to move in and stay forever.

Since my bank account can't handle the boatloads of fabric I wanted, I had to be careful about the fabrics I chose - and let me tell you, that was difficult given all the fantastic designers: Amy Butler, Michael Miller, Alexander Henry, Robert Kaufman....I was in heaven. I decided to go ahead and buy at least one piece of fabric at full price, so I got 1/2 yard of Alexander Henry's "Tweet Tweet" fabric, which is the one I used to make Haley's simple skirt in THIS post.

Like I said, I knew I couldn't affort the insane amount of fabric I wanted, so I did what any thrifty girl would do - I headed straight to the remnant pile. And that's where I found this adorable fabric!

source

There in the pile amoung the other scraps was 1/4 yard of Michael Miller's Bee Hive fabric in mustard. With Haley's obsession with bees, I knew I had to get it and make something out of it. Fast forward a year later, and I finally got around to actually using it.

Haley has a sever lack of summer clothes, so with hot Tennessee weather quickly on the way, I knew I wanted to make some shorts and a coordinating shirt out of it for her!

I made some simple, elastic waist shorts with little pockets on the back (you're looking at the back of the pants in the photo above.) I used store-bought bias tape to line the pants and pockets, then added some buttons to the pockets for a little extra detail. I also sewed a large button and elastic string on the front using this tutorial on Craftiness is Not Optional for the fly. I know it's not meant to be used for the fly of pants, but it turned out great!

Might have to do a shorts tutorial in the future....these were so fun and easy!

The shirt was SUPER easy. I used a scrap of the Bee Hive fabric, ironed on some fusible webbing to the back, and then appliqued it to the shirt using a zig-zag stitch.

It was hard to get a decent picture of her in the outfit...she was a little hopped up on sugar during the photo shoot. Judging by her grin, she seems to like it!

Linking up!

Show and Tell Wednesday at Blue Cricket Design