How to make your own magnet people

My name is Rachael Davis, and my dear friend Hollie asked me to guest author about the set of magnet people that I just made for my two year old daughter, Lana.  I'm so excited to get to share this with you - it has been such a huge hit in our home!  This will be an especially fun project for those of you who, like us, do not live near your extended family.  

About 2 years ago, we moved 12 hours away from our entire family for my husband to attend seminary.  One of the greatest concerns we heard from the grandparents was that La

na would not remember who they were, so we have pulled out all the stops in making sure we stay connected to them.  If you are looking for ideas in this area or have ideas to share, leave a comment and let us know!  I'm sure there are lots of great ideas out there, and

 we're always looking for something fresh and new to try.  

I wanted a fun way to help Lana connect with our family, and I also wanted to focus on praying for specific members of our family daily.  Enter our magnet people:

Lana LOVES them!  She has so much fun moving them around and talking to them.  She'll arrange them by family, size, etc.  My sister is in town visiting this week, and the day before she arrived, Lana carried her Aunt Kacie magnet around the house all day, talking about her.  We also use them to pray for specific members of our family - as she plays with them, I'll start praying for the person she's holding - just short, simple prayers, ones that she can model.  Sometimes it's even as simple as saying "Thank you, God, for Uncle Bro.  He is so fun to play with, God.  Thank You for sharing him with us."  I'm beginning to hear her imitate these prayers...what a joy to my heart.  

Enough about why we love these: let's talk about how you can make them yourself.

Take full-length pictures of everyone that you want to include in this project - don't forget about family pets!  Make sure you get head to toe shots - they look funny when they end at the knee.  Crop them as close as you can to save ink when you're printing them out - you don't need any of the background.  

Print the photos out on magnetic paper.  Staples and Office Depot usually don't carry it in stock, but they'll special order it for you.  I ordered it online, and used www.magnetvalley.com.  They had the best prices that I could find, and they shipped the same day.  This pape

r is thinner than you might think, and ran through my inkjet printer very easily.  Don't use it with a laser printer - it won't work.

Cut the photos out carefully.  Lay them on a flat, protected surface and give them a couple coats of Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Spraypaint.  (Wal-mart carries this in their paint section.)  I sprayed it outside so the fumes wouldn't bother us, and it dried very quickly in the heat.  This clear coat is important - without it, the first time water splashes on your magnets, they're done.

Stick the magnets on the fridge and enjoy!