I was sifting through the dregs of the after Christmas clearance at Hobby Lobby, when I found a little magnet for 40 cents. While it was cute on it's own, it wasn't really my taste, so I figured it would make a great base for my Crafting on Clearance series.
I didn't really know what I wanted to do with it at first, but I definitely wanted to use some of my giant collection of stickers. It's hard to stop buying stickers because they're so cute, but I struggle sometimes to think of ways to use them other than scrapbooking. That doesn't stop me from buying them, though, and I have a large box overflowing with them at his point.
Like the rest of the world, I've been obsessed with Baby Yoda since the Mandalorian premiered in 2019. And yes, I know his name is really Grogu, but I'm not ready to call him that yet. Of course, that means I have plenty of Mandalorian stickers in my stash.
At first, I thought I'd just paint the magnet white and cover it completely with a collage of stickers. Unfortunately, the paint didn't stick properly because the surface of the magnet was too smooth. I also didn't like the look of the plain stickers covering the entire thing.
I just want to note that this happens a lot. You'll often get ideas that don't work out, or you might even just mess something up. That's ok! It happens to everyone. You can always try something else or throw the piece in a scrap bin to revisit when you have a new idea. Just please don't sit there feeling unhappy with your art because it didn't turn out the way you wanted, That kind of thinking can lead you to give up on crafting altogether.
For attempt number two, I decided to cover the magnet with some left over scrapbook paper and only use a few stickers. I cut a scrap of starry paper and glued it to the magnet with tacky glue. To make sure there weren't any lumps under the paper, I smoothed the glue down with a paint brush before I stuck it to the paper. There were still a few lumps, but that's fine. It's handmade, so there's no need for it to be perfect. When the glue dried, I trimmed the paper with an X-acto knife.
Next, I chose one of the Baby Yoda stickers and stuck it to a piece of scrap paper. I wanted him to stick out a bit from the surface of the magnet, so I glued two more scraps to the back and then fussy cut around the sticker.
I thought he needed to be standing on something rather than just floating in space, so I painted the bottom of the magnet to look kind of like the moon's surface. To get that effect, I just dabbed on a mix of white and grey paint.
Like I said, I have a ton of stickers in my collection, so it was time to shuffle through the box and find a few more. I found some puffy space themed stickers that were left over from a Valentine's card making kit I bought on clearance several years ago.
I glued Baby Yoda on the planet's surface and stuck a few of the stickers in the sky. The puffy stickers and the raised surface of the Baby Yoda sticker really make them stand out and add much needed texture to the piece.
To finish it off, I brushed a little black paint around the edges to make a border of sorts and painted the sides of the magnet black. This made the magnet look much more finished.
I'm really happy with how the project turned out. It looks great on my refrigerator and will make me smile whenever I see it. I'm glad I stuck with it even though my first idea didn't work out. It feels great to know I was able to make something when I could have just stopped after I "ruined" it.
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