DIY BOTTLE CAP PIE MAGNETS

Set of my finished Bottle Cap Pie Magnets in a cookie tin

I wish I could take credit for this cute idea but I can't.  I had never seen any or heard of them before winning an auction box lot full of miniatures last week.  And tucked away in the corner was this single, cute miniature little pie that inspired this DIY bottle cap pie post:

Here was the bottom after I tore off a $3 price tag of old scotch tape.

It wasn't a magnet, but I immediately thought it'd be cute as one. So I had to get to making up a batch and see how they will sell in my new booth.  Oh, here's a few pics of how it's coming along so far.

And now on to making these adorable bottle cap pie magnets.

YOU WILL NEED:
-Salt Dough (Recipe Link) or Polymer Clay (my first batch I'm trying the clay since I have a lot on hand)
-E-6000 Glue
-Round Magnets
-Craft Paint & Spray Paint (optional) but faster for me for larger batches
-Metal Bottle Caps

First off, gather up some metal pop lids.  Oddly, I'd saved these for a while, but I just never new what I'd need them for.

Then take them and lay them out on something, I used a styrofoam plate, and spray paint them the base color you want.  

 

I chose white just because it was what I had on hand.  

 I'd really have  preferred red. But anyways.  One coat was good enough, so I continued.

My next step is totally optional but I love the old enamel speck look it gives so I've gotta show it.

Take some other contrasting color, I choose red for one batch 

 

and blue for another, 

 

and flick specks on using an old toothbrush. 

Just dip the toothbrush in some paint, and run your finger up and down the bristles to let the specks fly. You can add a dab of water if you must, but not too much or it'll look too runny.

And after they dried good, I got out my clay.

Next time I'll use salt dough, but for right now I have plenty of the clay ready.

I went ahead right now and squirted a bit of E-6000 glue into the empty lids, preparing them for the clay. Here's the type I used that I purchased from ebay:

Just pinch you off a bit and shove it in a dry lid to make the pie.

 

Here is a bunch of the tops so you can see the various designs I did. 

Oh, I also went in while the clay was still wet and cut a slit out to make it look like a piece was gone.

Here's another pic to show how I used the tip of an ink pen lid to push in to make fake cherries or what have you:

And with the same pen, I rolled it on top of the clay to give it a woven texture.

Just look around and find items that you can use.  If you notice the edges of these, I took one of the metal bottle caps and rolled it around the edges to give it the crimped look. I really liked that.

Now let them sit to dry. Depending on what type of "pie filling" you used, it depends on the time.  But for my clay I let them sit for about 12 hours.  And then I did a bit of painting.

 As you see,  I just used some craft paint and try to dribble on some sort of pie toppings. And I loved the one that I painted white, like a cake, with red strawberry dots on it. I think that one is my favorite.

 A few of the others I just played around with. And the one with the chocolaty looking runny topping I was trying to go for a drippy look for the edges, but it didn't turn out so good.

And if you noticed, I've got them stashed in an old cookie tin that someone had given me as a gift last year.  I thought it'd be a cute way to transport them to my booth and to display them in.

Also, if you wanted to sell these in a lot of say a dozen or so, it'd be a cute packaging idea to leave them in the tin with the lid!  I may do that also.

But here's some pics of how I've gotten some displayed in my kitchen now:

And again, it'd be a very cute way to give a tin of  Christmas cookies, errrr pies, as a unique Christmas gift!

I'm still on the fence on how to price these. Maybe 2 magnets for a $1.00.

Or .99 cents each? I dunno yet.

 Or if I put around 12 in a tin can, as above, maybe $7.00 or so? What would you think on the pricing?

Hope ya' like this idea and give it a try!

Happy crafting ya'll,

~Lisa

Primitive Wooden Spoon Magnets

I recently posted about how to make primitive, wooden spoons here: PRIMITIVE WOODEN SPOONS with step by step detail. It was a great project! And got lots of interest from many of you.

I have since revisited this idea and turned the crafting up just a notch by making them more interesting.

Here's how I did it:

I started off with plain, simple wood spoons found at Walmart in packs of 4 for around a dollar in the kitchen supply section.

I use a few of the same photos from previous posts when it is plain wood spoons so I don't have to take them for each craft post. lol. Just in case you are tired of seeing this same pic I use in my spoon posts.

Very cheap!

I bout about 10 packs of these. And then I paint them in a variety of colors. Here's a group of mine being painted in ivory white. I used spray paint this time because it was faster.

Just mix and match sizes and paint them in groups. Let dry for a few hours. Don't forget to paint the backs!

Sometimes though, for certain colors, you will need to hand paint on some craft paint for the base coats. This takes more time, but you have many great colors to choose from. I tend to stick to basic black, navy blue, wine red, okra yellow and sage green as base colors.

And then after you have a ton of all these colors ready, you're set for the next step.

You will need to paint over them with a second coat in another totally different color. Yes, I know sounds like a lot of work, but trust me, IT IS WORTH IT. It makes them look so much better.

And after that second coat, you will be ready to start some light to medium sanding. I use a light sand paper, nothing real heavy.

LOOK CLOSE at the REDish color one in the middle. Do you see how the black is the second coat? See when I took sandpaper and brushed off some of the second coat, it allowed the red underneath to show. And it makes it look older. I love it!

When I ran out of black spray paint, I brushed on some of that in the can too. I was worried it wouldn't sand off easy, but it did.

And after the sanding, I was ready to start hand painting some detail. I just looked around in magazines and online clipart for ideas in the primitive them and free handed them below.

Some I did a willow tree on, and old crow that I tried to paint, sitting on a crock. A simple bowl with a star and a window scene with shutters. And oh, a cute plate sitting on a shelf with a star in it. These took some time, about an hour to just do this part and lots of patience.

And then I was ready to add the magnet. I got the round ones from Walmart craft section cause they are stronger to hold notes and papers.

Just simply hot glue them on. The hold is super strong! And it dries fast!

And here's some that I have all finished and in my Peddlers Mall Booth #555:

I priced these for $2.49 each. I'm not sure if that is good or bad because I have none to compare them to. So far, I'm the only one that has made them in my area for sale. With such a strong magnet, I think it is worth it.

What do you think?


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Note: In case you don't want to do magnets on these: For the previous Primitive Style Wooden Spoons that I made and didn't turn into magnets, I grouped them in groups of 3 for sale, like this:

Halloween Magnets from Old Christmas Bulbs

I was going through the phase this weekend  of making snowmen magnets 

and Christmas bulbs

 , 

when it hit me. 

I had an idea to use some of the white and orange Christmas tree bulbs I had sitting in a jar. Left the base color alone, even though it has imperfections, I like it. Painted on a simple face with some Folk Art craft paint, added some homespun and on a few, added an orange button. 

Then lastly, I glued on a heavy crafting magnet on the back of each. Don't want these falling and breaking if holding too many papers!  And here they are:

 Which one do you like best? The ghost or the pumpkins?

Happy Crafting,

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa