Magic Magnets

I recently got hold of some sheets of magnet and just knew I had to do something with them.  I recently made up a bit of care package for Graeme to see him through his exam revision and decided I could include some fun magnets too.  I picked one of Graeme's favourite hobbies, a card game called Magic, which is made up of 5 different groups of cards, White, Red, Blue, Green, Black.  I had a quick browse around the internet for some decent images but couldn't find anything I liked or were large enough.  I ended up taking a tiny image of the badges from the magic website and redesigned them in Photoshop with better backgrounds so I could print them off much larger.

Before we go any further, Yes, I have attempted to play this game and No, I didn't get on with it.  Mainly because I lost and couldn't really see the point of playing again.  Graeme is determined to teach me so I will have another go but only if he promises to go easy on me and give me a really good deck of cards.

One thing I didn't think about when designing was how to cut the magnets into a perfect circle.  I did try using one of Dad's drills but this gave a very rough edge and I knew I could do better with scissors.  Note to self: Next time design square magnets!! After cutting (which seemed to take forever) and sticking the paper designs on, the magnets just didn't feel finished, so I went online to look for a glaze I could cover them in.  The best one around seems to be Aleene's Paper Glaze, which gives a raised and glossy finish.  This I could only order online though and I didn't have the time or money, so instead I set about trying to make my own glaze.

Attempt 1: First thing to try of course, was clear nail varnish.  This gave a really nice glossy finish but soaked into the paper and made it all blotchy. FAIL

Attempt 2: Good old PVA glue.  This goes on white but dries clear so worked really well, although a thin layer didn't make any difference at all, so I ended up putting on a really thick layer to see if it would be raised. This didn't work, the glue dried in clumps and the edges of the paper went all wavy, but at least it didn't soak into the paper. FAIL

Attempt 3: Learning from mistakes I used a mixture of my two previous attempts.  Firstly a thin layer of PVA glue to seal the paper.  Then when it was dry I went over with clear nail varnish for a glossy finish.  It worked perfectly and the result was exactly what I wanted and I didn't have to buy anything, very resourceful!!

Graeme loved them, he probably like the booster packs of Magic I got him more but I'm ok with that.  Now I just need to decide what to design next, something most definitely with straight edges!!

I also want to congratulate Graeme on finishing his final exams and final year of Uni, can't for you to get home!!