Discover how you can create fun magnets using flat glass marbles and colorful paper. The magnet looks like a little bubble that magnifies your paper just a little and shows it off!

• Age Guideline: 6 Years and Up
• Time Required: 30 minutes (Does not include drying time)

The above age and time guidelines are estimates. This project can be modified to suit other ages and may take more or less time depending on your circumstances.

 

Materials Needed:

• Flat Glass Marbles
• Fancy Paper
• Pen
• Decoupage Medium
• Craft Glue or Strong Glue
• Magnet
• Paint Brush
• Scissors

Instructions:
You can use any size flat glass marbles/gems that you like. The bigger the gem you use, the bigger the magnet you should use! Try to find a magnet almost the same size as your flat marble. If you are using a super-sized flat marble, you can find them as big as approx. 2 1/2" across, use a few magnets.

Start out by choosing your flat marble carefully. Hold each one up to the light to see how many bubbles there might be to distort the picture. Some of the flat gems also have cracks through them. Once you have your flat marble selected, wipe it with a clear dry cloth to make sure there is no dust on it.

Use the flat marble as a template for cutting a circle out of your fancy paper. Lay the marble over the part of the paper you want to use and trace around it. Cut out the circle, about an 1/8th of an inch inside the line you traced.

Using a paint brush, cover the flat side of your marble with a thin coat of decoupage medium.

Stick the picture side of your paper onto the decoupage medium. Don't worry if it looks a little cloudy, it will dry clear. Follow this up with 3 or 4 thin layers of decoupage medium over the back of the paper, making sure it extends onto the gem just a little. Let the decoupage medium dry between each layer.

Once the decoupage medium is dry, glue the magnet to the back of the paper. Once the glue is dry you can hang up your magnet and enjoy the photo.

Note from Sherri: The first time I made one of the flat marble magnets, I only used clear glue to stick the paper to the flat gem without sealing it with decoupage medium. The magnet I used was so strong that it only took me one time of lifting the magnet off my refrigerator for it to pull the back layer of paper off of the flat marble!