My Sweetest Things

Long gone are the days when the outside of my refrigerator was filled with my boy’s artwork. These days I keep it pretty simple with a few magnets from trips we have taken and a few family photos on the side all neatly arranged in magnetic frames. Every once in awhile there is an important note I want to keep in sight as those who know me, know all too well that I am very good about keeping important documents, I just don’t always remember where I put them! I am working on my organization and in a moments notice I can now find those “Mom you need to sign this for school” papers. For those notes I want in my face, I place on the refrigerator since I know they will only be there a short time. While the notes are not attractive, these decorative magnets sure are.

This is what I used to whip up some decorative magnets. Most of these items I had on hand because I am addicted to JoAnn’s craft store and stock up on items all the time.

Take your favorite decorative paper and use the flat glass marble as a guide for the size of your cut. You can use craft paper, magazines, old calendars, just about anything that inspires you.

Brush the Mod Podge on the back of the marble.

Place your paper with the decorative side down on top of the marble and let dry for a few minutes. It dries pretty quickly and when you flip the piece over and the Mod Podge turns from white to clear, you know it’s good to go.

Hot glue a magnet on the back. You want to make sure the magnets you buy are large and thick enough to hold up the papers when you place the magnet on top. I used super strong ceramic magnets .75 in and they work just fine.

I hot glued a scrapbook tag to this one. This was my son’s future. A Smokey Mountain getaway!

It’s all good, and for my son, it’s really good! ~ Donna

Mod Podge. Love it! Super Fan I am. Years ago when we moved into our home I wanted to add a special touch to the walls. Something different. I decided to add some art in unexpected places. Switch Plates! Now that would be a conversation piece.  Many different types of papers can be used. I bought some textured art paper and pulled out my old Dali Calendars.They turned out great and I was thrilled with the results.

After living in the house for nine years I was ready to redecorate several rooms in the house. First came paint and next came the decorative switch plates.

Switch Plate Cover, Exacto Knife, Mod Podge, Foam Brush

Arrange cover on paper and leave room around the edges so you can fold the paper behind the cover.

I brushed two coats of Mod Podge on the top.

Place cover face down over the paper. Use Exacto knife to make a small cut in the middle for switch.

Fold paper back and apply more Mod Podge to secure it to the cover.

Use the pencil and gently rub around the rectangle to smooth the paper out.

Make cuts and fold over the back of  the cover.

Brush Mod Podge all over the back to secure the paper.

I set the cover on a container so the sides would not stick to the newspaper I was working on when the cover was drying. After it is dry, flip over and add two layers of Mod Podge to the front.

When the front is dry, use the pencil to poke holes for the screws.

Here is a second one I did using layers of a Dali calendar. I added some sparkle to this one!

When both covers were completely dry I used Low Odor Clear Finish to protect them.

I did not want to use the white screws that came with the cover since they would not match the artwork. It had to match!  I went to Home Depot looking for “artsy screws” and the nice gentleman at Home Depot looked puzzled when I tried to explain to him what I was looking for. We came up with these screws in Brown which worked well.

Tada! This beauty is in my Bedroom by my closet door. Salvador Dali – Mae West c. 1934

This beauty is in our downstairs bathroom. See how those Brown screws fit really well?

Here you can see a cover I did years ago for our bedroom. Not some old boring white switch plate cover! That’s another Dali! Three Young Surrealist Women Holding in Their Arms the Skins of an Orchestra c.1936

These are the covers I did nine years ago! I wanted you to see that they hold up very well. All of these covers are in high use areas. I added sequins and sparkle paint to some of the covers. If you use sequins add a small drop of Mod Podge to where you want the sequins placed and use tweezers to place it on top of the drop. You will spray with the clear coat to set it when the whole cover is finished.

I still have a few more covers to make and I am still working on my bedroom makeover. That’s new paint you see on the walls. They were Burgandy before!

Now, what to do with that mirror?

It’s all good ~ Donna