The front of your family’s refrigerator is a great place to add a touch of holiday spirit this season with these vintage style Santa Claus magnets. This project also makes a great stocking stuffer and/or gift idea.
For this project, you will need:
– 1/8 inch thick sheet of crafting wood (available at craft supply shops)
– Jigsaw or other tool to cut crafting wood
– Medium or fine grit sandpaper
– Tack cloth or other soft cloth
– Krylon Indoor Outdoor Primer in All-Purpose White
– Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Hunter Green
– Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Cherry Red
– Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Dover White
– Vintage Santa Claus illustrations (available in old books, magazines, or online)
– Color laser copier (available at your local copy and print shop)
– Cardstock
– Pencil
– Ruler
– Craft knife
– Self-healing mat
– Mod Podge or other decoupage medium
– Popsicle stick
– Sponge brush
– Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Finishing Spray
– Adhesive backed magnetic tape strips
– Hot glue gun and glue sticks
– Newspaper and/or a large drop cloth
Cover the area where you will be crafting with layers of old newspaper and/or a large drop cloth. Place the sheet of 1/8 inch thick crafting wood flat on the workspace. Use a jigsaw or other tool to carefully cut the wood into two inch squares. Sand the edges of the wooden squares with medium or fine grit sandpaper. Wipe away any dust on the squares with a tack cloth or other soft cloth.
Lay each of the wooden squares out flat. Prime them using an even coat of Krylon Indoor Outdoor Primer in All-Purpose White on each. Dry for an hour. Separate the squares into three groups. Paint one group with several coats of Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Hunter Green. Paint a second group with several coats of Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Cherry Red. And finally, paint the last group of wooden squares with a few coats of Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Dover White. Allow the paints to dry for several hours before proceeding with them.
Find several vintage style Santa Claus illustrations. This can be in old books, old magazines, clipart collections, or online. Have them shrunk to one and a half inches square and printed onto cardstock using a color laser printer. (If you do not readily have access to a color laser printer, check your local copy and print shop.) You should have one illustration per square of painted wood.
Lay the cardstock on the self-healing mat. Carefully cut out each vintage style Santa Claus image using a pencil, ruler, and a craft knife. Apply a generous coat of Mod Podge or other decoupage medium to the back of one image with a sponge brush. Adhere the image to one of the squares. Use a popsicle stick to smooth the paper onto the wood. Repeat this process for the remaining illustrations and wooden squares.
Once the glue is completely dry, spray each square with several coats of Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Finishing Spray. Let the project dry overnight. Remove the paper backing from a strip or two of adhesive backed magnet tape. Apply a dot of hot glue to the adhesive for extra strength, and adhere to the back of one square. Finish the project by adhering magnet strip to the rest of the squares. Cool completely.
