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!

Day 2 and still going! Yay!

I got a late start tonight, so I made something easy. Magnets!

Four large and four small. All nature/woodsy themed. All adorable! We've got trees, birds, owls, a worm and a beaver. I think my favorite ones are the tiny owl and the tiny worm. They are the two on the far right. You know, the two that are the hardest to see!

They actually have to dry for about 24-48 hours before I can attach the magnet backs to them. The black magnet squares they are sitting on now are just so they can dry without sticking to the cardboard box lid. Why are they in a cardboard box lid? Cause my cat will play with them and ruin them the moment I walk away. Putting them in a lid or box or anything makes them mobile, and therefore hide-able. They are now safely hiding at the back of one of my shelves that is conveniently unreachable by cat. *insert evil laughter here*

I'm struggling with how to photograph them well. The light bounces off the glass creating reflections, the lens has trouble focusing on the pictures instead of the glass bubble, and the glass distorts the pictures, which in real life is awesome, but hard to capture the true image on camera. Anyone have any suggestions on how to photograph these better? I will be selling sets of these in my Etsy store eventually, so I'll need to photograph them well.

The added bonus of creating something every day is that I also have to post every day. And that will create some great habits for me as well as keep me honest.

I have also vowed to find a new blog or site or person in the online creative community every day of this challenge. Do you have any suggestions for me?

Thanks for reading!

Happy Creating!