Teachers Gifts: DIY Magnetic Clothespins

This week is my kid's school's Teacher Appreciation Week, and I wanted my kids to make a special gift for each of their teachers in honor of it. This need to be a project that would not only be fun for the kids to do, but also not too difficult. So I came up with the idea to make these Decorative DIY Magnetic Clothespins.

You can make them by simply painting wooden clothespins and then glueing a magnet to the back. I figure their teachers could use them to put up on the white board to hold papers and reminders.

Decorative DIY Magnetic Clothespins Supply List

To make these fun Decorative DIY Magnetic Clothespins, you will need:

• Paint Markers
• Magnetic strips tape with adhesive back
• Wooden clothes pins
• Exacto knife
• Ruler or straight edge
• Sheet of cardstock
• Plastic sandwich baggie (optional)

Now to make these fun Decorative DIY Magnetic Clothespins...

How to Make Decorative DIY Magnetic Clothespins

Step 1 - Purchase your supplies.

My kids love to paint, but after our Mother's Day project, I found they made huge messes when I let them paint. So for this project, we used Paint Markers. They are actually quite perfect for this project. Not only do you cut down on the mess, they are easy for little hands to use.

I was able to get the paint pens, a 50 pack of wooden clothespins for super cheap and also picked up the magnetic tape strips at Walmart. But you can get these items at any craft store or online. Though, I was very happy that I was able to get all my shopping done in one place.

Step 2 - Once you have your supplies, you can get started by cutting the magnetic tape strips. Cut them to fit one side of your clothespin. Cut as many magnetic strips as the amount of clothespins you will be making.

Peel the paper off the adhesive backing of the magnetic tape, and stick it to one side of the clothespin.

Step 3 - With Painters Marker, paint the other side of each of the clothespins. I suggest painting each one a single color to start off with. Let them dry.

Step 4 - Once dry, use the other colors of Paint Markers to add designs and pictures to the painted side of the clothespins. You may need to wait for the paint to dry between each color that you use.

Once your design is complete, let the painted clothes pins dry completely. Here you see my kids working so intently on their clothespin designs. They look awesome!

Step 5 - To package your clothespins, it's nice to cut a piece of cardstock to 2-½" x 6" or approximate to fit into baggie. Place each clothespin neatly onto the cardboard. place into a plastic sandwich baggie. you can tie with a ribbon, or print out the bag topper I created and glue or staple it on. here is the link to download it.

Step 6 - Give your painted clothespin gift to your teacher!

I just love how the set turned out, and can't wait to make more. I can see myself making this gift in all different color combinations and styles to give out for different occasions!

Happy Gifting!
XOXO, Jill and the kids

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