1. i used 3/4" magnets that i found in a pack of 50. they are about a 1/4" thick. i found them near the beading and jewelry section of michael's.

2. the marbles, actually called "gems," are found in the floral supply section and are sold in bags of about 50. they are round on one side and flat on the other.

they come in a variety of colors, but clear works best when using an image. if you use a colored gem, the image isn't as visible behind it. i think it'd be nice to have a set of colored magnets without any images to mix in with the ones that do.

3. i purchased a 3/4" round hole punch, found in the scrapbooking aisle. this was a definite time saver for cutting out all those round discs! and, a made a much neater edge.

4. in addition to cutting out decorative images i cut out white discs to line between the dark magnet and image as a precaution to the glue bleeding through and distorting the image. i used white magazine reply cards that always fall all over the floor when you're reading. they worked really well.

in all honesty, i forgot to glue down the white discs a few times and i couldn't tell any difference. most of my images were cut from magazines, so the paper wasn't real thick to begin with. but, since i didn't have any major problems next time i'll probably leave out the white discs all together, as it's just an extra step.

5. placing the marble directly over your image before cutting gives you a preview. i found that leaning toward smaller images is best in the end, unless they're graphic, because otherwise the marble magnifies only part of the image.

6. it made it even more helpful to flip the hole punch over and line your images up inside the hole. this way you can see exactly where you'll be cutting.

for even more of a preview, you can even place the marble on top of the hole in your punch to get the whole effect!

7. once you've cut out all your images you're ready to begin! i squeezed out a pretty small bubble of glue from the tube, picked it up with my toothpick and transferred it to the magnet. i didn't smear the glue around.

8. repeat the gluing process with each layer, pressing down evenly to spread the glue out underneath. it's not necessary to wait between layers for the glue to dry.

your layers should be, from bottom up: magnet, glue, white disc (if using), glue, image, glue, marble (with the round side facing up obviously).

leave your magnets to dry overnight.

9. if you're worried about the marble being scratched up, don't -- the glue evenly spreads out and fills in the weird creases and bubbles on the flat side making them magically disappear!

10. as you can see some of the marbles are not as big as the magnets/images, so the sides peek out on some. it's not a huge deal, but next time i'll use some 1/2" magnets. this way the smaller marbles will completely hide anything from underneath.

11. my first batch of marble magnets! my favorites are the swirls and the flowers. i also used a penny for one (it's exactly 3/4").

12. the second batch. my favorites are the clock face, the cowboy and the bug.

13. another batch. this time, i used all the extra white discs and drew my own designs on them using markers. i put them in altered altoid tins for gifts.

14. another gift batch.

15. boyfriend's batch.

16. tins with all my sorted out images, pre-cut and ready, just waiting for my next batch!

:: questions, comments, suggestions ::