Easy DIY Photo Magnets

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Silhouette.  All opinions, as always, are HONESTLY my own.

Friends, I have a confession to make.  Honestly?  I’m cheap.  It’s true.  I don’t like paying a lot of money for things if there’s a better, less expensive way around it.  {Which is why you see so many DIY projects here on the blog for everything from jewelry to home decor!}  Most recently, I had a little freak-out when Little Crafter came home with a school picture order form.  Un. be. lievable.  One 8×10 photo costs $13.  Two 5×7 photos also cost $13.  Add four 3.5 x 5 photos, one for each great-grandparent {because how do you tell 92 year old Great-Gramma you were too cheap to get her a picture?!}, and all of a sudden, we’d be out almost 40 bucks!  For school pictures!

And let’s be real.  School pictures are usually pretty awful.

I mean, why wouldn’t they be?  Your kid is already grumpy because you made him wear a button down shirt instead of his Secret Agent Perry tee with the paint stains on it, and now he’s got to sit down on an uncomfortable stool in front of a fake looking background and try to give some total stranger a natural looking smile while bright lights flash in his face.  Yeah.  I’m going to pay $40 for that?!  I don’t think so.  So guess what.  I didn’t order any.  Because I knew {or at least hoped} I would be able to take a better photo myself.

kindergarten

Here’s the one I took the morning of Picture Day {ah, the infamous button down shirt}.  It’s undeniably cute, but he’s got a little bed-head going on, some grape juice face, and his smile is a little strained.  I still thought I could get something better that really captured his personality…and sure enough, the other day I did!  We had gone shopping together the night before and he picked out and insisted on getting a particular blue striped shirt and the cutest little man fedora I’ve ever seen.  Wearing them, he was totally happy {and adorable}, and I snapped this picture with my phone.  Here’s what I did with it…

 

Printable Photo Magnet

 

You need:
– a photo
Printable Magnet Paper {on sale now at Silhouette!}
– Silhouette Cameo or Portrait electronic cutting machine
– cutting mat
– Silhouette software

Step 1: Open your photo in Silhouette Studio software.  Size it however you like, and duplicate it if you want more than one magnet.

Step 2: Load magnet paper into your printer and print via the Silhouette software.

Step 3: Without moving the photos, choose a frame shape and lay it on top of each photo.

 

fedoramags

Step 4: Adjust your settings to printable magnet paper and change the blade to the recommended number {5}.  Place your printed photos on a cutting mat and let your Cameo or Portrait do the work.

magnets1

Once the cutting is done, the magnets will punch out easily and be ready to display on any magnetic surface!

Photo Magnet

I admit, I expected these to be decorative only; the paper obviously has to be pretty thin in order to work in your printer, so I didn’t really think they’d be able to hold anything up.  I was wrong!  While you obviously can’t use them to stick anything super-heavy to the fridge, they ARE strong enough to hold up something lighter, like this little treasure of LC’s…a note from one of his karate teachers.

magnet3

Really.  How cute is that?!  I just love that little outfit…that little smile!  And I love how easy it was to do our own version of school pictures that we can give out to family members instead of paying a small fortune for photos we don’t even like.  What about you?  Could you see yourself making some of these easy DIY photo magnets?  Or some with a different kind of digital design, like a logo or favorite quote?  You can do anything with these printable magnet sheets, and now’s a great time to do it, since they’re part of the Silhouette bundles this month and are 30% off!  Hop on over and get you some {and don’t forget to use the code ARTSY while you’re at it; you’re helping send Little Crafter to the coolest school ever}!

Hugs & Glitter,

siggy

Similar Posts

5 Comments

  1. GOOD FOR YOU! It seems that we tend to let ourselves get caught up in what we are SUPPOSED to do, rather than what we WANT to do or what is right for us. These magnets are awesome, and I bet all family members will appreciate them so much more than a forced photo that they then have to go & frame!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.