We needed some more fridge magnets and I thought it’d be fun to make some glass tile photo magnets of my fuzzy kids.
You can find a lot of tutorials for making glass tile magnets on Pinterest, and they’re all variations on the same theme. Here’s how I make photo magnets…
Materials:
- glass / resin tiles (I get mine from the etsy shop: Candytiles)
- Diamond Glaze (also purchased from the etsy shop: Candytiles)
- magnets
- toothpicks
- Super Glue
- scissors or x-acto knife
- pencil
First step is to print out photos that you want to use for your magnets and make sure they will fit in the tiles you have.
I’ve discovered that printing on regular paper or cardstock works better than printing on photo paper. Photo paper smears very easily and gets blurry when Diamond Glaze is applied to it.
Trace the tile onto your photo.
Cut out the traced shape. I’ve seen people use an x-acto knife for this step which might work better for you. I’m a little terrified of knives because I’m extremely accident prone so I try to stay away from them.
Put a dab of Diamond Glaze on the glass piece and spread it across the entire tile with a toothpick.
Place the photo facedown onto the glaze. Press down to make sure all the air bubbles are out.
You can also flip it over and press down to make sure all the air bubbles are out. Wipe away any excess that leaks out.
Diamond Glaze is water soluble so you can clean up any messes with a damp towel.
Repeat for all your photos. Wait 10-15 minutes for the glaze to dry.
Flip the tile over and put another layer of Diamond Glaze on top of the photo. Spread the glaze out with a toothpick, sealing the photo in.
Wait another 10-15 minutes for the glaze to dry.
Put a dab of superglue onto the back and drop the magnet on.
And that’s it!
Once your glue is dry, you can put your photo magnets on the fridge.
You can use the same technique with other printed materials like stationary or a design you print out yourself. If you don’t want to purchase resin tiles, you can also use flat backed marbles that are found in most crafts stores.
Here are some other magnets I’ve made over the year. Anyone else out there a World of Warcraft fan? =D
