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13 Magnets to Make Your Fridge Look Like a Fantastic Art Gallery

My fridge is part command center, part art gallery. I’ve got a wipe off calendar, notes from school, a meal planning list (from last month) and a whole lot of Mitch’s art stuck to it…all with magnets!

I’ll admit my refrigerator was getting pretty cluttered, so I’ve started turning Mitch’s art INTO the magnets that hold other bits of paper and drawings. It’s a great way to recycle the junk while holding on the memories.

What Kinds of Magnets Should I use?

First, a word on magnets. There’s several kinds you can use out there. I’ve used recycled junk mail magnets–you know, those thin sheet magnets that have game schedules printed on them. These are great for turning INTO art but don’t have a lot of strength to them for holding other papers too.

You can buy fresh sheet magnets from the craft aisle or at Amazon here.

I don’t recommend magnetic tape–the tape usually wants to stay curved–I’ve had some pop right off Mitch’s crafts! Plus, it’s not very strong.

Neodymium — or Rare Earth — magnets are super strong and will hold a crap ton of things to your fridge. Use a decent glue if you’re going rare Earth! These magnets are also great for science projects. These are tougher to find at places like Walmart, so just order them online–here’s a pack of 80 magnets in 5 sizes from Amazon.

Ceramic Magnets are a bit cheaper and can hold a few sheets of paper as well as a craft project glued to the surface. The might leave marks on your fridge if you push the magnets around, so be careful. Ceramic magnets are pretty common in the craft aisle, or toss a few in your Amazon cart here.

Ceramic magnets can also be found with adhesive backing, which can save you a step when making your crafts.

Magnet Safety

First, don’t do any of these Magnet crafts with toddlers and little kids who put everything in their mouth. Most of these are too small and can be a choking hazard. And you SERIOUSLY do not want rare Earth magnets anywhere near kids who eat random objects they find stuck to the fridge…

Rare Earth magnets are so strong that really big ones can SMASH THINGS. Little ones can get stuck to your fridge and are obviously really dangerous if anyone swallows them.

Fun Break: Watch the Slow Mo Guy Smash things with big magnets!

Mitch and I LOVE the Slow Mo guys! Now back to crafting!

Use These Clear Gems to Make Fridge Magnets

Some of the magnets we’re going to make use clear gems–or tiles–to cover the bits of art your kid made. You might get lucky and find vase filling gems at the Dollar Tree, but in case you want something special, here’s a few Amazon links to help you out.

What Kind of Glue Should I use?

Mitch has a long standing impatience with standard white glue. It’s just not fast enough for him! You might be tempted to break out the glue sticks for these crafts–but please don’t. Glue sticks are great for mess free paper gluing, and that’s about it.

  • For gluing art to clear glass: Mod Podge Gloss. Super clear and it’s a sealer too!
  • For gluing foam and felt: Aleene’s Felt & Foam Glue. Can’t go wrong with Tacky Glue!
  • For gluing magnets to just about anything else: Hot Glue. We LOVE our hot glue gun! Ok, it’s actually a low temp glue gun, which is a little safer.

I asked some of my fellow crafty parent bloggers how THEY make decorative fridge magnets and now I’ve got even MORE ideas. Now to clear that calendar for some crafting time…


Turn Drawings into Art

This is one Mitch did–we saved some of his doodles by turning them into magnets with a bit of recycling and Mod Podge.

Turn Your Kid’s Art into Glass Tiles

Preserve your kid’s masterpiece into a magnet–save the memory, not the whole paper! Great how to from Hello, Wonderful!

Hand of child holding colorful glass tile magnets

Fingerprint Art Magnet

Make cute fingerprint art–flowers, turtles, hearts, snails–and turn them into magnets! Your kid will want to make a whole bunch of these, so give them as gifts to teachers & relatives. See the how to video from Rhythms of Play here.

Colorful fingerprint art turned into glass magnets.

Add Bling with Felt Gems

Super cute felt fridge magnets that you sew! Get the directions over at Swoodsonsays.com.

Magnet made from sewing felt in the shape of a gem stone

These Shell Critter Magnets Are Pretty Crabby

I totally love this idea to craft a shell from this summer’s beach trip into a fantastic art magnet for the fridge. By Red Ted Art.

Turtles and crabs made from shells and pipe cleaners.

Bottle Cap Magnets

The printables for these bottle cap magnets are for winter and Christmas, but the idea is good all year!

bottle cap magnet

Salt Dough Letter Magnets

Tired of plastic fridge letters? Make your own with salt dough! In this idea, you would just make enough to spell out a special word…but you could go crazy and craft all 26 letters if you wanted to! By Red Ted Art.

The word HUG spelled out in salt dough shapes

Mixed Media Magnet Art

This one is a bit complicated, but if you don’t have a fancy laminator with special magnet sheets, you can still take the idea and apply the magnet backing by hand. This one also uses rubber stamps–a great idea to get your kid’s crafting with your old scrapbook supplies! By Artsy Momma.

Mixed media art magnet made by coloring a mermaid rubber stampl

Super Crafty Heart Magnets

This one is great for older kids–take wooden hearts and get artsy! Details over at Red Ted Art.

Heart magnets in lots of different colors and designs.

Salt Dough Hearts

Make a whole bunch of these and let your kid give as gifts or attach to the next Valentine’s Day card! by Red Ted Art.

Child's hands using rubber stamp to make heart stamped clay magnets.

Salt Dough Flower Magnets

I love this idea to take a simple cookie cutter and use it to make a craft magnet! You’ll want a whole garden of these for your fridge. From The Best Ideas for Kids.

cookie cutter flowers made from salt dough and turned into magnets--painted, glittered and has a kid's picture in the middle

Bluebird Magnet Art

I love magnets that are both art and capible of HOLDING more art! These super cute bluebirds were made by Artsy Momma.

Pumpkin Foam Faces Fridge Magnets

Does your kid like to constantly rearrange the fridge magnets? Here’s a fun fall magnet that will let your kid create a different pumpkin face every day. (Obviously not for kids that might try to EAT the pieces.) From the Flying Couponer.

Pumpkin fridge magnet made from foam sheets

Spooky Ghost Magnet

Here’s another idea for decorating your fridge with DIY kid art: ghost magnets! From The Soccer Mom Blog.

Halloween ghost magnet art stuck on fridge.