DEMO!

Memory Magnets

First Listed: December 7, 2007

I love making the memory magnets . . . and finally, here is a picture-by-picture demo of how to make them. You can watch me talk about making them on AM Northwest a few months ago, but I think this is a little easier to follow . . . Get Crafty!

You'll need: large clear flat glass pebbles (at least 1" in diameter) or flat glass marbles, a cutting implement, Diamond Glaze glue, heavy duty ceramic magnets, and either E6000 or Goop glue. If you're local to Portland, you can get all these goodies at Collage. If you're not, JudiKins makes Diamond Glaze and you can get a free sample here. One good on-line resource for the glass pebbles is Stampington. They also carry Diamond Glaze. Most of the ones you get in the floral supply sections of craft stores are glazed or cloudy: some bubbles are to be expected, and add to the effect, but try to find the clearest ones you can!

1. Make color photocopies of your favorite family photos.
Ink jet prints don't work well, as the glue can make them bleed. I also don't recommend using originals - photocopies will protect your originals, and allow you to reduce the images to a variety of sizes.

2. Position the pebble so you can get the best composition, and position any flaws or bubbles in the pebble away from faces!
This is part of why it's nice to have reductions in a variety of sizes.

3. Then trace the outline of the pebble and cut the image out.

I find that it works well to trace around the pebble on the image, and then cut it out slightly inside the trace line. Keep in mind that the edges of the image won't show up under the glass because of the magnifying quality of the glass. I like to have the paper image just a bit smaller than the glass. Sometimes, I'll also just use my craft knife to trace and cut at the same time.

4. Assuming an image that's 1" to 2" in diameter, squeeze a dime-sized dollop of Diamond Glaze brand glue onto the image.

Diamond Glaze is the glue of choice because it dries really hard and clear.

5. Place the glass pebble over the image. Press the image into the glass, starting with your thumbs at the center. The glue will start to spread!

You want to end up with a very thin coating of glue completely covering the space between the paper and the glass. Press from the center to the edges, spreading the glue evenly between the glass and the image. Use your thumbs to smooth out bubbles and make sure that the glue is covering everything. It's like a sandwich, and the glue is like the mustard or the mayo. Wipe away any excess glue that oozes out - and trust me, glue will ooze out!

6. Once the image has started to dry, you can clean any gluey fingerprints off of the glass with rubbing alcohol. It gets harder to do after 24 hours.

7. Let the glass-glue-image sandwich dry for about 15 or 20 minutes. Then squeeze a blob of Goop or E6000 glue onto the back of the sandwich.

8. Press a heavy duty ceramic magnet into the glue, and let it dry. And it's done! Using a slightly heavier paper is a good choice, as with very thin paper, the E6000 or Goop can bleed through the paper leaving a little bit of a dark shadow on the front of the image.

This is just a taste of the techniques I cover in my memory jewelry class . . . intrigued? There's another class starting in February . . . Until then, make merry with the magnets! And I love to get photos of what people make with the DEMOS!

And, as with all the DEMOS! feel free to use these instructions yourself or link to them, but please don't reprint, republish, or distribute without permission. Thanks!