MORE PRIMITIVE SNOWMEN CLOTHESPIN MAGNETS

SNOWMEN CLOTHESPIN MAGNETS

It's headed into that time of year again! I know it is still months ahead for most shoppers, but for us makers of the holiday crafts, we have to start early.

Here is a fresh new batch of my Snowmen Clothespin Magnets.

In case you missed the others:

Here's some and here's some more.

I started off with these plain, wooden clothespins from the Dollar Tree for $1.00.

First, I spray painted some of them them all Almond in the Rustoleum brand from Walmart, the rest a regular white.

 I found laying them on chicken wire really helped make the spraying go faster. More air could get in and out too to dry better. Waited for that to dry, flipped them over, sprayed the backs.

And then sometimes I just stick them on my clothesline and spray them there too.

 Then I just lay them all out in lines and I start to do about three of them in the same facial designs at once.

That way I don't get too bored repeating the same thing over and over. And it makes for a great way to make the batches a little bit different each time!

Then I start throwing in some random words like Faith, Family, Friends, Joy, Hope or such.

And then more and more. Just whatever really pops into my head at the time.

And when I get tired of the same ole' again, I started trying new faces kinda like some I saw on some spindles on Pinterest.

oh, have to add her a nose....

The main key to making so many of these Snowmen Clothespin Magnets, I think, is to do a few at a time in steps. Like say do three sets with the same eyes, then go on and do three different ones. Then come back and do three sets of noses or so on. And that way it doesn't really feel like tons of the same at once.

And then I had to start thinking about what to use as a scarf. I always keep leftover material on hand. So I have plenty. I like to cut a start of a line, then tear it the rest of the way off to give it a more worn, primitive look.

Just tie it on and it instantly dresses them up quite a bit!

There's some above, in some blue scarves I changed up.

I love these colors the most though. Just that they remind me of Christmas more or something!

And here's some more pics so you can get some ideas of more faces if you need them.

And some Faith, Family and Friends styles again.

And then just use some E-6000 glue and glue on some magnets. I buy the stronger, button round ones from Walmart in the packs of 52 for around $3.00. It's best to never try to use the strips with stick and go for these. Those aren't quite strong enough for anything.

If they don't have the small enough round ones, you can still get the 3/4" and cut them in half with strong scissors and you get double for your money. And they look fine!

And now, if you are still with me after the tons of photos! (sorry I just can't get enough snowmen!)

I was ready to package these up for sale in packs of 10 this year. Because that is how I am selling them in my online store.

So I just grabbed the closest size, clear bag I had, (which was a little too big, but I can make due.)

And some crafting paper in a pretty brown.

And my reindeer scissors which really get me in the mood! lol

Just cut the crafting paper about as tall as the Snowmen Clothespin Magnets and as wide as your bag is. Insert it as the backdrop and then just line up your magnets.  I've learned magnets are usually hard to package because they will tend to flip and stick to each other.  But if you put them in close enough and tight enough to each other, they stand very good and firm for packaging!

I try to keep them in color coordinated packs because on ebay people tend to want them all in one color theme. Or they usually buy two sets, one of each color.

And then I take one of my printed out cards, 

that I made from using AVERY online, print them on cardstock, and sometimes stick them in the end to take up space. Just bend over the sides and it will stand. 

Or sometimes I just roll the sides of the bag back and tape it and stick my bag toppers, that I also make with Avery online, and staple them to the top.

And here's the back of the topper I made in Avery online:

And sorry again about the tons of pics, but I just love them all!

Here's some all packaged up now and ready to go!

They are all packaged up, just waiting for some new Winter Homes!

;-)

Hope ya'll liked these batches of my new Snowmen Clothespin Magnets!

I sure had fun making them. And I will probably make a few more batches if I have time tomorrow.

Happy crafting until I see ya'll next time,

~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?


--------------------------------------------

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:

Snowman Magnets

I recently ran across a blog called Eyeballs by Day, Crafts by Night and am in love with almost everything that this girl makes. It seems that we have alot of common interest in many crafts and I think she has some wonderful ideas. So over the weekend I tried out one of her ideas which was Snoman Magnets! And here's my go at it.

First, I painted some little wooden discs I found at Michaels craft store.

Then painted on the faces by looking at hers. Let that all dry, then came back with a home-made mixture of mod podge and with glitter and painted that on. It kinda give it that snowy effect without me having to purchase the glitter mod podge. And surprisingly, it worked. Lastly, I used some E-6000 glue (from Walmart) and attached some good strong, round magnets to the back.

And here they are all finished and ready in my craft booth:

Look real close and you can see the glittery snow affect.

 

I too, will also be selling these in my craft booth, so I went with the display method she used also. That is by sticking them on a metal star. I chose a red one I painted, and edged with a eggnog yellow.

I put sticky price tags on the back of each one.
I priced them for $  .99 cents each

I absolutely loved this craft!

Oh and I bought my round magnets at Walmart in the craft section.

See ya'll next time,

~Lisa