Now that summer is underway, blooming flowers and trips to the beach are the norm. If you love the warm summer season and hate when fall and cold weather arrives, here’s one way to keep a little piece of summer all year round--DIY magnets. The next time you go outside or stroll along the beach take some souvenirs like seashells, sand or flower petals. Once you have collected all your souvenirs, preserve them with this easy DIY magnet activity.

Supplies

Steps

  1. Resin has a strong odor, so set your supplies up in a well ventilated area, like a garage or outdoor workshop space. First, clean off your shells to remove any sand and dirt, drying them off with a towel. If you are using flowers, remove any stems from the so only the petal part is left. Drying the flowers before adding resin often makes the process easier and preserves the flowers.
  2. Take your resin kit and mix the solution according to the instructions on the package.
  3. Lay out your molds on some disposable material on a flat surface or table. You can use either resin molds, which you can purchase from a local craft store, or bottle caps.
  4. Place your items inside the molds or caps and begin filling them up with resin, until they are a little more than ¾ full. You can use some a spray sealer like Krylon to maintain the color in the flowers.
  5. Let the resin dry. Some kits may have varying drying times, but overnight is usually a good time span. If you let them dry for long periods of time, you may want to cover the magnets with a sheet of wax paper to keep bugs, dirt and dust particles out.
  6. Once dry, remove the resin pieces from the molds and glue a magnet to the back of each piece.
When you are done attaching a magnet to all of your resin pieces, you can hang up your new summer magnets! These magnets are not just great for nostalgia sake, you can also use them as party favors. For instance, if you are hosting a luau party, stuff a few of the seashell and flower magnets into guest’s goody bags or add them to a party game prize.