Magnet Puzzle Tutorial

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If you have been reading my blog regularly you probably remember the crafting disaster (of epic proportions) Fun With Magnets:Magnet Board Tutorial. Not my best work, that. It wasn't a total fail, I got some swanky new fridge magnets out of the deal, so there's that. I got those stickers from a coloring book I had bought my daughter. Now that coloring book has long since been abandoned, it's pages scribbled over and the best of the lot saved to the scrapbook. Left behind was a fairly pristine cover.

Can I just say, whoever thought of making tear out pages in kids coloring books is brilliant. CeeCee has the attention span of a gnat and if I gave her the whole book to play with it would be destroyed in minutes.

So anyway, here I am with a Sesame Street coloring book cover and a bunch of magnets left over from the magnet board fiasco when all it occurs to me: That part of the craft turned out OK. I'm good at cutting things out and I am good at sticking magnets to things.

Why not stick some magnets on a picture of Elmo and make a puzzle out of it?

Seriously, that's all you need

You Will Need:

• A picture you want to make into a puzzle
• Enough photo magnets to cover said picture
• A pair of scissors

I don't think it is copyright infringement. After all I bought the book. I'm not making money from it. I'm just upcycling it.

 

Step One: Cut out your image

Furry little bugger was hard to cut out:(


I was pretty lucky here, in that there were two really nice options on this cover. There was a great picture of Elmo on the front and a cute pic of Cookie Monster, Zoe and Elmo flying kites on the back. Since I apparently grow Photo Magnets and I had time to kill I decided to do both. Cutting out Elmo was a pain in the arse, I'm not going to lie. Next time I will keep the shape simple. In retrospect I should have just cut a bubble around Elmo but live and learn. The Cookie Monster picture was way easier.

Step Two: Add the magnets

Cut  the basic shape first, then go back and refine it.

Magnet paper is sticky as hell. You want to make sure you get this part right the first time. If you find you have paper hanging over the edge don't sweat it, you can always add more magnet to it. Just cut some to fit and add it in the areas you need a bit more. The goal here is to have magnet sticking out around the edges so you get a nice flat finish. You don't want paper hanging over the edges, it will just get worn and look awful with wear and tear. Carefully cut out your finished shape.

Step Three: Make it a puzzle

Finished puzzle pieces

This was the fun part. All I did was cut the pictures up into puzzle shapes. That's it! I used a simple six piece puzzle shape and eyeballed it. Next time I might make it a little more complex, since CeeCee got the hang of this one on the first day. She still loves playing with it though, it has become part of our bedtime routine. She puts it together before bed and I mess it up again for her in the morning.






This was a really easy, fun and quick project. The cost was $2.50 and for that I got two magnet puzzles, with high quality images, that are providing hours of amusement and important hand eye coordination. Not to mention bragging rights. Maybe one of these days I will get around to making the magnet board too:) I hope you guys give this one a try and please, share your results with me.

Happy Crafting Everyone:)
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Fun With Magnets - Magnet Board Tutorial

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Pinterest is going to be the death of me.
I'm actually not exaggerating...much.

Ways Pinterest could kill me:

• Mr. Zinga could get sick of coming home to an untidy house and strangle me.
• My cholesterol level rising from yummy food ideas could result in massive heart failure.
• Accidental decapitation with a Skil Saw while repurposing pallets.  

 I'm fine, really. It's not a problem. I can stop pinning anytime I want to...I just don't want to.


I fell in love with the idea of making a magnet board for CeeCee the first time I saw one, on Pinterest of course. There are magnet boards for organizing makeup, keeping craft supplies tidy and I even saw one that had what looked like an herb garden growing on it. Considering how many different shapes and sizes they come in I was surprised there weren't more options for kids. Kids love magnets, mine does anyway, but magnets can be kind of sketchy. I don't know whats scarier, the risk of them choking or the risk of them swallowing two and having them stick together in their tummy. I decided the only way I was going to be comfortable with CeeCee playing with magnets was if I made them myself. My problem is I am horrible at crafts. I always start with the best intentions but usually end up swearing, bleeding and/or scrolling endlessly through the pages of Regretsy, thinking "It could be worse, Helen Killer could be featuring my crap...I mean craft"

You should also know that April Winchell AKA Helen Killer is my hero. She is living, blogging proof that sarcasm DOES pay off in the end. Take that Mom!

Now on to the crafting:)

Crafty Goodness

You will need:

• Cookie sheet  You can buy new or repurpose an old one one. It's a good excuse to buy yourself new bakeware
• One can of metal adhering spray paint  Don't be afraid to get colorful, kids love bright colors
• Page of stickers Use whatever characters your kids are into, we chose Sesame Street
• Sticky Magnet Paper You can find this stuff at most dollar stores. Look in photo frame or craft section
• SOS pad For scratching up the surface of the cookie sheet 
  

.

Stickers on magnet sheet

 I started with the magnets, mainly because it rained the day I planned on making this and I wanted to get what I could done. First I took the backing off of the magnet sheet. Handle it carefully because this stuff is super tacky. Next I carefully arranged the stickers to maximize space. Between the glue on the magnet sheet and the glue on the stickers these puppies aren't budging once they're in place so make sure you have them lined up how you want them the first time

Choose simple shapes that are easy to cut out

                                                                                               Carefully cut around each sticker making sure there were no sharp edges. On a side note, if you are wondering where I got the stickers from, it was an activity/coloring book. CeeCee loves to color but stickers are wasted on her so I always tear them out before I give her the book.

Finished Magnets

I also want to point out that you are the best judge of your kids interests and abilities so choose stickers that are going to be engaging to them and also size appropriate for their development level. Obviously if you have THAT kid (you know, the one that has to go to the ER to have the beads removed from their nose on a weekly basis) you may need bigger stickers.








The cookie sheet proved a little more difficult to make. Here is a fairly accurate description of the process:

Step 1

• Wait for a calm, sunny day
• Scrub all the baked on gunk off of cookie sheet with the SOS pad and scratch the heck out of the non stick surface AND nail polish in the process.
• Thoroughly dry cookie sheet (I put mine in the oven on broil for a few minutes just to be sure)
• Take everything outside and get organized, lay down a garbage bag to prevent Watermelon Pink grass incident
• Lightly spray cookie sheet, remembering Dad's words of wisdom that twenty thin coats is better than one gloopy mess
• Realize in horror that paint is not adhering to cookie sheet and is beading up in an alarming manner.
• Allow it to dry and hope that the next coat sticks better, check back in half an hour 

Step 2

• Peel back edges of garbage bag that have blown onto surface of cookie sheet and are now adhering to beaded up paint
• Apply second coat of paint, a little thicker this time to cover up the garbage bag smear marks and paint beads. Use handy nearby solar lights to weigh down the garbage bag.
• Realize in horror that you have gotten overspray onto husbands solar lights. Death by Pinterest #4 - Husband beats you to death with a Watermelon Pink solar light
• Realize that second coat of paint isn't sticking either, open bottle of wine at 10 am.
• Apply sheet of lacy white tissue paper to tacky paint in effort to hide garbage bag smears, paint beads and bits of grass blown over from neighbors yard (thank you SO much for choosing right now to mow, CAN'T U SEE IZ CRAFTING)
• Decide that rather than making it look vintage, tissue paper has made it look worse. Attempt to remove tissue paper only to find that the paint has instantly dried in places and has formed some type of spray paint/tissue paper paper mache.

Step 3

• Use convenient garbage bag to dispose of  cookie sheet, tissue paper and solar lights
• Consume remaining wine.

Voila! You have now created your very own set of  fridge magnets.

Handcrafted fridge magnets FTW

I think Helen Killer would approve.

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CeeCee's Montessori-ish Bedroom

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“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.” - Maria Montessori

Those words were written a long time ago by one of the world's most revolutionary children's educators, Dr. Maria Montessori. They still ring true today.

Maria Montessori - 1933

A few of her concepts jumped out at me:

• Allow the child to be independent and learn through exploration, play and practical work (purposeful activity). 
• Create a safe, clean, orderly AND stimulating environment for the child
• Do not try to "teach" the toddler. Instead allow the child to absorb knowledge from the environment around them

This barely scratches the surface of Dr. Montessori's teachings but it's a good place to start. It's not like you have to do EVERY little thing by the book. To be completely honest I plan on avoiding a few of her teaching strategies.


For example, I don't believe that infants and toddlers need to eat from glass bowls and drink from actual glasses (not plastic) in order to teach them Control of Error. I prefer to teach that lesson using spillage, not breakage, as a learning tool. Spilled milk isn't going to result in a trip to the ER for stitches. Besides teaching them to eat is supposed to be messy. That's part of the fun.

Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day mommy:)

Bedtime had always been a challenge. She hated her crib...hated it. I'm pretty sure she looks at it as baby jail. I get it. She spent the first year of her life in bed with Mommy and Daddy. A crib was a regression. We converted it into a toddler bed but still, the stigma was already there. She liked being snuggled to sleep (Who doesn't?) and that just wasn't possible in a toddler bed with a sixty pound weight limit. We had to do something. I had just delivered our youngest daughter and intended to bed-share again and the thought of have four people in one bed was giving me nightmares, counterproductive when you consider bed-sharing is meant to allow you MORE rest. We contemplated putting CeeCee on a mattress directly on the floor but I wanted to research it first.


Enter my old friend, the Internet.


Somewhere along the way I came across the term Montessori Toddler Room. Several images popped up in Google, some more pretentious looking than others. Looking at these rooms I couldn't help getting excited. I would have LOVED a room like this when I was a kid. We slowly started the process of redesigning CeeCee's room using Montessori concepts.

We wanted CeeCee to be independent in her movements and choices, at least in her own room. She sleeps on a twin mattress that sits directly on the floor. She is able to climb into bed, out of bed, read in bed and jump on the bed without any interference or help from me. Her toys are neatly organized and rotated frequently.

CeeCee's Bed

The lower shelves of her bookshelf are filled with age appropriate reading materials. She even has a little chalkboard attached to the wall so she can doodle and draw without having to ask me for help. 

A few articles of clothing are kept on a lower bar in her closet so she can choose her own outfit. Her garbage can has a pedal on the floor to open it and is short enough for her to put garbage in but tall enough to prevent her taking garbage out. On the floor sits a switch that controls the lamp in her room.

The lamp is tall enough to prevent her burning herself on the bulb, the garbage can prevents her from tipping the lamp

Naturally we spent much time childproofing. By chance all of our electrical outlets are situated above our foundation walls (basement suite) so sticking her finger in a light socket isn't a big concern. Her bed is only 8 inches off the ground, not high enough to hurt herself should she roll out in the night. Furniture is anchored and/or untippable. Her door is never closed, instead a baby gate keeps her in, preventing her from roaming the house in the night but allowing us to hear her easily.

Age appropriate books at the bottom, books for when she's older up out of harms way

So far the experiment has proven successful. CeeCee loves playing in her new room and bedtimes are, for the most part, getting easier. The only downsides are that I spent more than I had intended redecorating and that it now look like the Disney Princesses threw up in my daughters room (don't judge, she loves the "pwincesses"). I don't know how Maria Montessori would feel about it, seeing as how we kinda cherry picked the ideas we liked and discarded the ones we didn't. I like to think she would approve, once her eyes adjusted to all the pink. Oh well, CeeCee loves it and that's all that matters.

After all, it's HER world.

More pictures of CeeCee's room...

Toys are neatly organized and rotated often

Books for later and a few knick knacks

Books for now

Hopscotch anyone?

CeeCee's chalkboard. Gotta love the carpet, circa 1972:)

Floor plug for the lamp. It is basically an extension cord and available in any hardware store. Close up on the hideous carpet

Changing station. Foundation walls make a great holder for my cloth wipe setup.

Double rods in closet make it easy to put clothes at her level while keeping delicate clothes out of harms way

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