alphabet magnets ... the cute way

LOVE this project! :-)

I have seen several ideas for DIY magnetic letters lately ... and I was SO glad I saw them before buying those plastic letters you see everywhere.

You know ... the ones that look like this:

No offense, but they're just not that cute. Especially displayed in my kitchen!

And since last week was Spring Break and I had nothing else to do (haha!), I decided to embark on a new adventure and make MY OWN magnetic letters for my lil' Lucy girl.

First stop: Michael's craft store ... where I picked up several packages of these round wooden discs. (I think they were about $3.00 each.)

Next step: painting the wood discs. I chose celery green (Krylon spray paint) because it matches the colors in my kitchen, and I'm assuming that's where these little babies will be spending a lot of time.

Here they are, all painted purdy green...

Next step (the step my husband thinks is completely nuts): distress the paint. He just doesn't get it. But you will see in a second why it IS important (well if you're going for the distressed look, anyway!)

I used a sandpaper sponge to sand around the edges of the discs, then used a paper towel to rub Distress Ink (walnut stain) around the edges.

See..?

Below you can see the difference ... the discs on the left are all distressed, the ones on the right are not. HUGE difference, huh? :)~ (sorry, I'm just one of those people who notices these things...)
My perfectly distressed wood discs.

I just wanted to hug 'em and kiss 'em, I loved them so much.

But it gets better! (crazy, I know)

I found these awesome letters (they come in stacks, which I'd never seen before) at Michael's, too. I was THRILLED to discover they fit perfectly on my wood discs.

The soft colors and cute patterns are just perfect for the look I was going for, too ... they're cute but not too cute to also look adorable on the stainless steel in my kitchen.

So I mod podged them onto the tops of my distressed discs. (I told you it got better. I was right, wasn't I?) :)~

Last step: a dot of Gorilla Glue and a round magnet (also purchased at Michael's).

And voila! A.....dorable alphabet magnets. L-O-V-E.

I'm already preparing to make a second batch ...

Tips (that I learned the hard way):

* You can sand the edges of more than one disc at a time - grab two or three and do them together - it'll save you a lot of time!

* Be careful not to mod podge the sides of the discs (where you have already distressed/inked) - it will peel the ink right off.

* A tiny dot of gorilla glue goes a LONG way. Don't use very much!

This whole process was .... well, it was a process - not gonna lie. It took me about three days to get them all finished up. But it was SO worth it, and it's a really good feeling to know Lucy's alphabet magnets were made with a lot of TLC by her Mama. Highly recommend. :-)

P.S. If you're looking for a different (and more boy-friendly) version of these, Roo at NiceGirlNotes has some great ones to check out, too! :-)

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