Clothes Pin Magnet

If you have grade school children in the house, it is a sure bet the outside of your refrigerator is doubling as an art gallery. Holding up the assortment of watercolors and drawings is usually the job of kitchen magnets. Ever popular, coming in a variety of shapes and sizes, these magnets are often used to decorate the refrigerator, even if there is no artwork to hold up.

A clipping magnet is especially useful for securing grocery lists or messages. This fun project will enable the youngster to create a personalized magnet to give to that special adult, or keep for themselves, to use for securing and displaying future art projects.

Materials needed:
"Pinch" type wooden clothespin
White glue
Magnet (large enough to hold up the weight of the clothes pin with paper)
Popcorn (un-popped)
Thin cardboard
Photograph or picture from magazine (approximately 2" x 2")
Scissors

Directions:
Glue the magnet onto one side of the clothespin, in the center. Allow to dry completely. Choose the picture or photograph you wish to use, glue it onto the cardboard. Allow to dry. Cut a shape around the cardboard mounted photograph or picture. It might be a circle, heart, or square; whatever looks best with the picture in its center.

Use the glue to secure the popcorn along the edge of the cut out, creating a popcorn frame. When this dries, decorate the clothespin by gluing picture onto the side of the clothespin, which does not have the magnet. The part of the clothespin that *bites* should be at the bottom of the picture.