Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3

They say opposites attract.

Big, boring fridge, meet cute magnetic photos. We think you’ll get along just fine!

It’s time to spruce up that lonely appliance, sitting in the corner, begging for attention.

Follow this tutorial for a step-by-step guide to make miniature works of art in the form of magnetic photo tiles.

You can make a mosaic or a lovely grid of your favorite Instagram photos.

Either way, you’ll make your other appliances envious and turn that big blank canvas of a fridge into a stunning gallery.

Turn Your Fridge into a Photo Gallery

p.s. If you’re in NYC or San Francisco, Skillshare’s hosting a load of awesome looking photo classes taught by some truly great photographers! (Including one by our very own photographer, Kim Thomas!)

Why it’s cool:

Why should picture frames have all the fun? Magnets are small, interchangeable, and make great gifts.

These little photos are sure to cheer you up every time you head to the kitchen.

This process is quick, easy, and functional to boot!

What you’ll need:

• Photos to print
• Printer
• Mat board or Illustration board
• Modge Podge Dimensional Magic Glaze
• Magnets
• Xacto knife or
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Straight pin
• Plastic cups

STEP 1: Size and Print

Shrink ‘em up! Use Photoshop or another editing program to make your images your desired size.

First, we made our images 2×2″. Then we put as many as we could fit on an 8×10″ canvas in Photoshop in order to print multiple images on one page.

Print on photo paper on your home printer, or if you prefer, upload them to a local lab for professional quality images.

Step 2: Trim the Prints:

Use an Xacto and a straight edge to trim your images nice and neat.

Scissors work well, too!

Step 3: Measure and Cut Board

Use your ruler, measure your images and draw your cutting lines on your mat board.

Hold your ruler down firmly, and use the Xacto to cut your board down to size. Check each cut before moving the ruler to make sure the blade went all the way through.

TIP: In the end, we found it helped to leave a little border around each image. If you like that look, measure your mat board 1/2″ larger than your images, leaving a nice 1/4″ border on all sides.

Step 4: Glue together

Secure your images to the mat board by gluing them down.

Use glue, tape, or a small amount of the modge podge glaze.

TIP: Let them dry all the way before moving on. Make sure you have complete contact between the image and the board. If not, the edges will curl after the glaze is applied.

Step 5: Glaze!

To complete your magnet, coat it with a dimensional glaze. This seals the photo onto the board, and gives it a nice finished surface when dried.

Start at one corner, glaze around the edges, then move in a fluid motion over the entire image.

There are many types of dimensional glaze on the market. We found Modge Podge Dimensional Magic to work the best. It’s basically a super thick modge podge. It’s available at most craft stores, but if you can’t find it, a similar product will work just as well.

Modge Podge Dimensional Magic goes on smoothly, won’t run over the edges, and has a nice finish. Out of the products we tried, it also had the least amount of air bubbles coming out of the bottle.

Step 6: Pop air bubbles:

Use a straight pin to pop any air bubbles you see.

Wipe the pin immediately after each pop to prevent the glaze from building up on it.

Step 7: Let it dry

Patience, patience. This product took about 24 hours to dry.

TIP: To prevent dust from falling in, cover your image with a plastic cup during the drying process.

Step 8: Make them Magnetic!

We used magnet tape that was adhesive on one side.

Cut strips of magnet tape to your desired length. Peel the paper back, and apply in to the back of your images.

For round, non-adhesive magnets, use a hot glue gun or superglue to put them in place.

Step 9: Display:

Now that’s a good lookin’ fridge.

Take it further

• Make mosaic photo magnets like the one above by cutting an 8×10 image into smaller parts.
• Poetic Photography? Spell out phrases with images… eye…heart…ewe.
• Don’t want to get your hands dirty? Stickygrams sends magnets of your instagrams right to your door.

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