Pebble Magnets Project

My husband needed some magnets for his classroom, so on our way to a park outing we had stopped at Staples and Target in search for magnets worthy of my husband's aesthetic (oh, yes, these things DO matter!). All we could find was mini plastic clothes pins, cartoonish planets and frou-frou modern ones. Very frustrating to say the least... we hardly wanted to make this an all day affair. So we abandoned the idea and headed on to our nature walk destination. Once on the trail, I looked down and all became clear: I have a ton of neodymium magnets from products I made in the past and beneath our feet there was an endless supply of sturdy little stones which completely agree with Andrew. So we paused on our route to look away from the glorious reds and golds above and hunted for our little treasures below. Everyone was involved and it was a great team effort.

At home, I washed the stones well and collected my supplies: some paper on which to work, a toothpick, 3/8" neodymium magnets and E6000 glue. Seriously, this is the glue you want for this project- it is strong enough to keep the magnet adhered to the stone. These particular magnets are so strong, they can often pull away from the "top" while sticking to your fridge. So, with this in mind, while, this is a great project for kids in theory, the E6000 glue is not a kid-friendly glue. Use in well ventilated areas and don't allow to get on skin. If you wanted to do a kid's version of this, you may want to use less strong magnets (which don't require the heavy duty glue) and be sure to pick pebbles light enough to not drag them down. I prefer the neodymiums for their thinness as well as strength. The rocks will appear almost flush with the surface of the fridge and each one can hold several sheets of paper as well as support the pebble. They are truly amazing little mights.

Just add a small dab of glue to the backs of the pebbles using the toothpick, attach the magnet and allow to set magnet side up so they don't adhere to your work surface. If your pebbles are too round, you may need to brace them so they don't lean over- while the glue sets it's possible the magnets can slip. Oh, and this is a biggie: do not keep your new magnets too close to one another because the neodymiums are so strong, they can attract each other even inches away. Best to allow them to dry overnight before you start to use them.