Focusing on fruits & vegetables...

I'm a little late getting on the flat-glass-marble-refrigerator-magnet bandwagon, but here I am with a project for them.

I'm really not that big on refrigerator magnets. But once I have a specific need, I'm all about finding a solution, and they fit the bill.

I wanted fruit and vegetable images for the magnets, so at a friend's suggestion, I went through old magazines and had no trouble finding appropriate sized images for the marbles in advertisements and articles.

So here are the raw materials:

large flat clear glass marbles (the ones that are about the size of a quarter)...old magazines...a scrap of tissue paper... Mod Podge...scissors...Exacto knife...paint brush...E6000 glue...strong disk magnets (I forgot to take the picture before I used all the magnets, so you might note that the package is empty).

And here are the steps in order. (Sorry no photos of the process.)

• Cut out pictures that you like
  
• Brush Mod Podge on the flat side of the marbles.


• Place picture side down into the Mod Podged side of the marble (so picture is visible through the curved part of the glass) and brush more Mod Podge over the back of the picture securing edges. (If the pictures are a little too big, just let them dry, and then use scissors to trim around edges as needed.)


• Let dry


• Cut out circles of tissue paper to put over the back of the pictures (not really necessary if your picture is large enough to cover the whole marble back, unless you want them to all look uniform even on the back like little old perfectionistic me)


• Apply Mod Podge to back of picture on magnet...stick on tissue paper...Mod Podge over tissue


• Let dry


• (I've read, though I didn't do it, that you can use an emory board to sand off any rough edges of paper once dried.)


• Put a small amount of E6000 on marble back (enough so that the glue just barely squeezes out from under the edges of the magnet when you push the magnet secure against the marble) It is important to add here that you should keep something metallic close by so that you know which side of the magnet is the 'attractive' side rather than the 'repellent' side...please don't ask me why I stress this. The 'repellent' side goes in the glue on the back of the marble.


• Lay the marbles picture side down overnight, so the E6000 can dry thoroughly before placing on the fridge

Here are the finished magnets on the fridge:

And here is how I plan to use them. Start the day with all magnets on one side of the fridge. Then, through the day as servings of fruits or vegetables are consumed, move a magnet to the other side of the fridge.



Voila! A visual reminder every time you go to the fridge to eat your fruits and veg, and a simple way to track your recommended daily intake. (I always thought it was recommended to have 5, but now I'm reading 9 half-cup servings each day...4 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables!)

Today I am thankful for the enjoyment my crafty hobbies bring me.