Suas fotos em mini-polaroids-imãs

Hi there! It’s felt like forever since I’ve last blogged, and has felt like an eternity since I’ve done anything crafty and nifty. Since my morning sickness has gone into full speed (yes, we’re expecting our third this fall!) I haven’t felt like myself. But nothing like inspiration to wake one out of a reverie — or nightmare, in my constantly sick state.

I came across these DIY Pantone chip magnets on How About Orange and wanted to do something similar. The idea of mini Polaroids dotting my fridge sounded cute to me.

You will need:
Cardboard (mine was the backing of a sketchbook — much thicker than the back of a regular spiral bound notebook) or 2-3 sheets of white cardstock or poster board spray-mounted together to use as a sturdy backing to the magnets
Opaque white marker (necessary only if your cardboard is not white)
Craft knife
Metal straight edge/ruler
Clear packing tape (optional. And alternatively, you could use a paper glaze if your printer ink doesn’t run when wet.)
Spray mount
1″ wide adhesive-backed magnet tape or a more costly, but stronger option
Photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop (or Pixlr, an online photo editing program — thanks Angie!)
Photo paper
Printer

Step 1:
Download a Photoshop file of the Polaroid frames below. The magnet dimensions are slightly larger than my examples photographed above because cutting them that tiny was a pain in the rear. Within Photoshop, drop in your photographs in the designated folder, behind the Polaroid frame layer. Scale down your photos to fit within the tiny frames. If you need help with the Photoshop part, Britta from the Handmade House has posted a tutorial on how to get your pictures in the template (my template download is at the end of post). Thank you Britta!

Step 2:
Print out photos onto photo paper.

Step 3:
Spray the back of your sheet of photos and also the cardboard with spray mount. Let each dry a minute before mounting the photos to the cardstock. If you want to protect your images, lay down pieces of clear packing tape on top of Polaroids, thus laminating it. This part can be tricky. Go slowly and maybe laminate only one or two Polaroids at a time. Alternatively, you can use a paper glaze if your printer inks don’t run when wet. Test first!

Step 4:
Trim out photos with craft knife. I strongly recommend starting with a fresh blade! Use the metal ruler/straight-edge as a guide for your knife. I always have more success doing multiple, shallow cuts until everything is cut through.

If your cardboard is kraft like mine above, use the white opaque marker (I like the ones in Martha Stewart’s craft line) and color in the edges. Next time I do this, I will use white heavy cardstock instead, to avoid having to color the edges.

Step 5:
Cut out magnets pieces from off the roll, each piece the same length as the Polaroids. Attach magnets to back of each individual Polaroid.

Step 6:
Let magnets flatten for a few hours or overnight beneath a pile of books or other heavy object. Then your magnets are ready for your fridge!

Click on the image below to download a high-res Photoshop template (zip file). Each frame is about 1″ tall and the dimensions of the finished piece is 4″x6″ which will enable you to get it printed at a photo lab. The Polaroid frames are on one layer with a second layer below that for your own photographs. Drop in your photos, and scale down.