I have a thing for all things space-related and I’m sort of obsessed with stars and nebulae. So, when I saw that my swap partner had pinned a set of space-themed rock magnets, I had to make some for her.
River rocks from the craft store are usually too large for fridge magnets, but I remembered seeing sheets of river rocks in the tiling section of the hardware store. I found some online that were the perfect size! Woohoo! I had to sand the adhesive off the backs and give them a good wash. I used Gorilla glue to adhere some rare earth magnets. They got a few coats of black acrylic paint before getting the ‘star’ treatment. Most of them are based off of pictures of nebulae and galaxies, but one is Peter Pan-themed…“second star to the right, and straight on til morning.” (To match the Neverland tote and pouch I also sent my partner.) They got a clear matte coat to protect them, too.
I made extras just in case I screwed some up, and I was forced to share with my DS2 (he stole a few to paint). So, I sent 6 to my partner, DH took 4, and DS2 painted 3 of his own. I still have loads of rocks and magnets left over, so I will probably paint more for gifts and our 1st Annual Family Craft Fair this December.
These are so gorgeous! You did such a great job capturing that ethereal feel! And, what a clever idea to use the rocks from a floor tile. Definitely tucking that idea into my brain
Gorgeous! I’ll sometimes see a single tile of rocks available at a reuse store (someone’s leftovers from a larger project), and wonder what could be done with just the one. You have the solution!
These are stunning! I love the idea of painting pretty rocks, and I love fridge magnets, so I’m on board. Makes me want to try, but first I have to deal with some house items/reorganizing/WFH updating! They really look like space!
My mum is sending me a mandala rock painting kit as I wanted to paint some rocks to use for sewing weights (and she happened to have a kit she was going to give someone for Xmas but didn’t), but these are so much more my thing so I’m defo going to try a few like yours and hope they come out as good
Using them as sewing/pattern weights is also brilliant. Definitely a good excuse to have more and large ones than make sense for fridge magnets, as well.
Oh, pattern weights, that is brilliant! I have a bag of larger stones that were intended to become story stones, but are just too big. Now, I know what I’m going to do with them!
Duh moment. I never thought to use rocks as pattern weights. And my garden produces a steady supply. And painting them makes them so much more fun to use.
