I have lots of small treasures hidden within the drawers of my armoire, or dwelling within depths of my bed-side storage. They are collections of trinkets from my childhood; pretty jewelry that have lost a few gems and bags of sea-glass that I’ve picked up from the beaches of my college-town. I wanted to think of ways to place these types of special items into the open instead of hidden in boxes that I only occasionally open and come across. That’s when I decided to place them on an appliance I frequent daily — the refrigerator!
I chose to repurpose two groups of precious pieces into repurposed magnets. One, a collection of stones and geodes that I have picked up over the years from road trips. The other set of magnets I created are glam holiday-inspired fridge décor made from an old brooch and two clip-on earrings that had lost their mates.
I think that these magnets turned out great! They also act as a cute gift to give someone just in time for the holidays!
Some other things you could repurpose are: seashells, broken keychains, Polaroids, spare buttons, holiday ornaments, baby pinecones, small plastic toys, puzzle pieces, extra markers from jumbled board games, pogs, bottle caps, old keys, and dice.
Follow along for this super easy do-it-yourself project!
Materials:
• Glue gun
• Magnets
• Small knick knacks
• Gold oro (optional)
• Paintbrush (optional)
Directions:
1. Place a generous amount of glue on to the back of a magnet.
2. Place the object on to the glue and hold for 10-15 seconds. Depending how large and heavy your knick knack is, you want to make sure that the magnet is strong enough to hold a magnetic force with the added weight of the object. I chose the thickest nickel-sized magnet for my largest geode.
3. An optional route is to paint your repurposed magnets. I planned to paint a thin gold strip along each rock, but I opted out at this stage. I really like the simple, all-natural look of the geodes on their own. Gold oro has a shiny metallic sheen which can give a nice finishing touch to your magnets, depending what objects you chose.
4. Enjoy! My two batches, an earthy grouping of gorgeous geodes and a glam batch of diamond bursts, can be swapped out throughout the year to change the décor of the room. The two looks are created from the same concept of repurposing small treasured doodads scattered around my home! Repurposing allows you to feel good about making previously owned items useful and treasured again.
Karen Housel is a fashion designer and DIY enthusiast. She would love to see what types of trinkets you repurpose into cheery magnets! If you share on social media, use #sustainabledaisy so she can take look. Follow Karen on Twitter, Instagram, or subscribe to her blog at Sustainable Daisy for more eco-friendly lifestyle tips! Read all of her MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.
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