Halloween jewels

About a year ago I discovered this fun craft that can be customized to make lovely seasonal magnets & stickers to give as gifts. It has the added benefit that you can use recycled elements (which warms my green heart), and is very easy for kids to do on their own with minimal parental interference.

This time around I used some stickers that my son got with his latest Mathmania mailing. To make these sweet treasures you'll need craft glue, glass gems (available at most craft stores and florists), and pictures to glue them on. When they're completely dry you can glue strong magnets to the backs of these to make gorgeous, home-made refrigerator magnets. My daughter made some as gifts for her teachers last year and they were a huge hit.

To make your own:

Pick your images, and check that they fit nicely under your gems. Pause to admire the magnifying effect. Squeeze out a good dollop of glue on to the back of your gem.

Place over your image. It's very wet, so you'll have plenty of time to align to your satisfaction, even if they slide a bit while drying.

Set aside over night so they dry completely. In the morning cut out your gems and admire your work.

If you make these with your kids, we'd love to see pictures, so do add a link in your comment so we can enjoy your handy-work!

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Looking for a few more easy Halloween craft ideas?

Check out my Halloween Craft Roundup!

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Comments

[Melissa Summers]

You know what would be cute? Attaching rings to the back of your jewels. (like these: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7445392) I wonder if they'd hold or how best to attach them.

[Veronique]

Melissa! I LOVE this idea! I think we might even have some left-over rings from a Klutz kit. I'll have to go digging around for it, but I think just a regular hot-glue gun should do the trick for attaching. Though I shouuld probably seal the backs of the gems so they don't get water damaged... Thanks for the inspiration!

[GG]

Very cute. What is craft glue -- can you recommend a certain brand?

Thanks!

[Terri]

Cool idea! Glad I stumbled across it.

[lindafurrier]

Hi Vero,
We added one more step to this craft which ends up creating a useful refrigerator tool...magnets! Yup, we just bought some of that self-adhesive magnetic tape & cut it into appropriate sized squares. You can make 'em for each season & rotate on your "gallery". Nice to see u are busy & well.

[lindafurrier]

Hi Vero,
We added one more step to this craft which ends up creating a useful refrigerator tool...magnets! Yup, we just bought some of that self-adhesive magnetic tape & cut it into appropriate sized squares. You can make 'em for each season & rotate on your "gallery". Nice to see u are busy & well.

[Veronique]

Yikes! Thanks for pointing this out! We make these as magnets & special stickers to give as gifts for holidays and birthdays all the time! (I've updated the text above to clarify)