Papier-mâché Magnets

I was searching my brain trying to think up something we could make for Daddy for Valentine's Day.  I spotted some heart shaped silicone moulds in Poundland and an idea was born!  You can pick up all sorts of different shaped silicone moulds in discount stores such as Ikea, pound shops and Wilkinson's.  Ice cube trays and small cake cases work well.

You'll need:

Silicone moulds
Newspaper
Flour
Water
Bowl
Paint & brushes
Glue
Magnets (I bought a cheap set from Wilkinson's and prised them out of their uninspiring casing)

Mix up a paste of one part white plain flour to two parts water.  You can add a squeeze of PVA glue if you like, but it's not necessary.

Tear the newspaper into small pieces.  The smaller the better.

Dip pieces of paper into the paste and squeeze out the excess.  This is a VERY messy job, and Ruby didn't quite get the squeezing off the excess part! I found what worked best was to use some gloopy pieces, then add dry to soak up the excess.  Keep building up the layers, pressing down firmly every now and again to compress and make sure you're filling every part of the mould.

I found this quite cathartic, and carried on doing it long after Ruby had gone to bed!

In hindsight, it may have been better to do this in two stages - half filling then allowing to dry out overnight, before continuing, but I'm not known for my patience!

Find a nice warm spot for them to dry out, like near a radiator.  Ours took 2 days to fully dry.

Carefully peel back the mould and pop your shape out.  If it's still a bit wet at the bottom, you can re-shape any bits that have come loose and leave to dry for a bit longer.

Paint with your favourite colours.  You'll need several coats and I was surprised how well Ruby did at this craft.  There's a lot of processes and waiting time, but she was happy to do a bit, leave it and come back to it.

Ruby used poster paints for hers, and I used gold acrylic on mine for more grown up magnets for my study!

When you're happy with the amount of coats of paint, and they're fully dry, glue a magnet onto the back.  You'll need to use strong glue like superglue or a glue gun.

Stand back and admire your work, and use them to leave soppy love notes to each other.

Linking up with Red Ted Art. and White Lily Green.