I love photos.
If you haven't figured that out by now, there's something wrong with you.
I love to make things out of photos, not just scrapbooks, so I started making personalized photos magnets!

They are pretty easy to make, all you need is some small photos, some strong, clear glue (I use Aileen's Clear Gel Tacky Glue), some flat marbles, and some small magnets.

Start by selecting or finding the photos you want to make into magnets. You have to be aware of the size of your marbles because if the photo doesn't fit inside it, it will look wrong. I usually make a collage in Picasa and get it printed as a 4x6 so each of my photos are 2x2. My marbles are about 1.25x1.25, so the center of the photos fits nicely. I've written about making collages in Picasa before - it's very easy!

I've also used photos from photo booths, greeting cards, Christmas cards, or even just some fun scrapbooking paper!

You can cut out your photos one of 3 ways;
1) Use a circle punch. This is what I do - I happen to have a circle punch that perfectly matches the marbles I buy, so it works perfectly.
2) Trace around the marble and cut out with scissors.
3) Glue the marble down, then cut around the edges once the glue is dry.

When your photos are ready, glue them onto the marbles! It takes some getting used to how much glue you need, but more is better - you can always wipe away extra, They may need a lot of drying time, depending on the glue you use (ps, hot glue will not work to adhere the marbles to the photos- it dries too fast and warps the photos. but it works great to adhere the magnets to the backs!), so keep an eye on them while they dry. My photos sometimes like to slide off the marbles while they are drying.

When they are dry, glue a magnet on the back.
More drying.
Time to use your new magnet!

I've made these mostly for myself, but I did make a couple sets as Christmas gifts last year. I got photos off Facebook and Flickr and made magnets from those. That's the great thing about these small magnets, you don't need great photos!

The only caution I put out there is that printing on regular paper does not work - the ink dissolves and smears when it comes in contact with the liquid glue. I would always recommend getting these photos printed on photo paper.

Now you know!
Happy Crafting!

This week's top 5 Friday is all about crafting tools.

Since my crafts tend to revolve around paper, my tools are all pretty tame. I don't do a lot of fancy techniques, but the tools I use have to be good quality, they have to work the right way when I need them, and they have to last a long time.

Here's my list:
* Paper Cutter - I'd be lost without this - I can cut a pretty straight line without it, but it saves so much time! I use a rotary trimmer from Fiskars.
* Corner Rounder - When I started Project Life, I bought a cheap corner punch from Michaels (the blue one - you know the one), but it hurt my thumb to use it for more that 2-3 photos in a row, so I researched and tried different models. I've firmly landed on the Creating Keepsakes corner rounder. I'm not even sure if they make these any more - I got mine at a garage sale for $1.00!!!
* Cutter Bee scissors - small, sharp, precise, perfect (and yellow!)
* Heat gun - this is a fairly new tool for me - I've just begun embossing recently, so I have not had to do much research on heat guns. The inexpensive one from Michaels is working just fine right now.
* Tombow adhesive runner - I am in love with this tape runner! I've never found another adhesive that works as well that is as portable, easy to refill, and easy to find as the Tombow one.

Ok, I'm done.
Your turn!
What are your favorite tools for crafting? (Keeping in mind that crafting could mean paper, woodworking, jewelry, yarn, fabric, photography, drawing, painting, anything!)

Happy Crafting!

New feature!

Each Friday, I will try to post my top 5 picks in different categories. I may add commentary, I may not. I may add links, I may not. I'm hoping my lists will inspire people to come up with their own lists and join in the discussion.

So here's week 1's topic: Colors

My top 5 colors (in no particular order):

* Mustard Yellow
* Brown
* Maroon
* Rose Pink
* Olive Green

What are your favorite colors?

Ahh, Pinterest! I am addicted! I love scrolling through the pages and pages of ideas! I have found some amazing recipes, cute home improvement/organization ideas, and of course, countless craft projects! 

If you have not browsed Pinterest yet, do it! But beware: it's slightly addicting. You can use Pinterest in 2 different ways: You can just browse the Pinterest home page for ideas then re-pin them on one of your 'pin-boards'. The second way you could use it is to pin items from websites so you can go back to them later. Because the best part about Pinterest is that every picture links back to the original page that it came from! So a photo of a delicious dessert will likely link to the blog it came from with the recipe on it so you can make it yourself!

I have made some crafts that are Pinterest-inspired and I'd like to share them with you!

Top Row: Melted crayon canvas (oddly therapeutic to melt all those crayons!), cake-pan craft supply organizer, and celery prints.
Bottom Row: Color-tinted glue candlesticks, heart-shaped crayons, and duct-tape baggie artwork display.

See? I told you there were a lot of neat ideas! If you'd like to know anything more about these project, leave a comment or go check out my boards on Pinterest! The original pins that inspired these projects are all there! IF you are on Pinterest, please link up your boards and I will follow you!