People love fall for the cool temperatures, vibrant colors, and plethora of themed activities. Lucky for us, fall goes on until December 20th! Halloween and Thanksgiving are two major holidays we celebrate during the season, and this DIY would be a perfect decoration for both. Leaves are an icon of falls and there’s no better way to display these beautiful gifts from nature than our Clay Leaf DIY Magnets. A project that’s simple, easy, and extremely fun for the whole family to make, these air-dry, clay magnets can be placed on any magnetic surface and will be noticed right away.

Supplies You’ll Need for Your DIY Magnets:

  • Air dry clay
  • Acrylic paint. For the project to look the most realistic, use fall-like colors such as copper, red, yellow, or brown. If you’re looking to make the magnets stand-out even more, try using metallic paint.
  • Leaf cookie cutters. These can be found at your local craft store. Make sure there is some kind of design in the middle of the cookie cutters, so it leaves an imprint on the clay.
  • ½” x ¼” Ceramic/Ferrite Disc Magnets.
  • Hot glue gun.
  • Baking sheet.
  • Parchment paper.
  • Mod podge gloss.
  • Rolling pin or alternative.

Instructions:

  • Roll clay out with rolling pin or alternative. Make sure the clay is flat with no bubbles.
  • Place as many leaf cookie cutters as you can on the rolled out clay, without letting the cookie cutters touch each other. Press into the clay and remove the cookie cutter. Then remove any excess clay around leaf imprints.
  • Once you have made as many leaf clay imprints as you would like, set them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to air dry.
  • Let the leaves air dry for 24 hours on each side. Remember to flip each one after the first 24 hours.
  • After the leaves are completely dry, it’s time to paint the leaves various colors. Paint one side first and let dry, then the other.
  • To seal the leaves to ensure the paint doesn’t chip, put a layer of mod podge gloss on it. Let dry completely.
  • Use the hot glue gun to dab a small pea-sized amount of glue on the back of each leaf. Add the magnet to the glue. Let dry completely.
  • Stick magnet on fridge.
There you have it! Did you try making these easy and festive leaf magnets? Let us know! Make sure you check out the rest of our DIY magnets on our magnetic crafts blog!