Scrabble Tiles to Magnets

 Hello Readers. I have a family and we are always on the go. I thought we could communicate more with some magnetic letters on the refrigerator. We could leave little notes for each other, say hello on busy days and even make a note that we are out of milk or eggs. If you live with someone else, this might be fun and useful for you too. 

These letters are small enough to fit many of them on the fridge but not so small that they are difficult to see. Esspecially in the morning without my glasses on. I can barely see anything then.

 

The first thing you will need is a pile of letter tiles. You might have them somewhere in the house from board games you have in the closet. I like these letter tiles because they are very neutral in color and won't clash with the kitchen decor. There are magnetic letters for toddlers and preschoolers but my kids are older and I didn't want the chaos of glaring bright colors all over my refrigerator.  

 

You can take the tiles from old Scrabble games you don't play anymore. And you can also find lots of board games at thrift stores for very little money. You don't need the complete game, just a collection of letter tiles. 
 

 

There are also other kids games that use similar letter tiles, like Bananagram's. It is a less well known game but you can use whatever letter tiles are easiest for you to get your hands on. Or use a combination of letters you can scrounge up.

 

You will also need some but strong but small magnets. With a little work, these will keep your letters on your refrigerator. 

You will need a glue gun. They can be super hot so be careful. I added a small blob of glue to the back of the tile with the glue gun. Don't skimp on the glue, you want everything really well stuck together. If you do not have a glue gun use a strong glue and let the glue dry fully before trying to use the letter tiles as magnets.

My next step was to add the magnet to the glue and pressed it down firmly. The glue and the magnet need to adhere to the letter tile well. 

 

When you are all done with the glue, you will have a pile of magnetic letter tiles that look like this on the back. The great thing about using a glue gun is that they are already set and can be used right away. No waiting hours for glue to dry. 

 

Just a note- I tried using a roll of magnetic tape with adhesive already on the back. It did not stay on the letter tiles well at all. It was not sticky enough and it did not want to lay flat on the back of the tiles. I do not recommend using this type of magnet for this project. 

 

My letters were getting used immediately. I thought these would be useful for making it known we needed important groceries or household items. My family wrote notes and my youngest was trying spell words he didn't know. (That was an educational bonus for me.)

 

  I hope this helps you and your family and friends and whoever you live with. 

Now go make something fun (And magnetic!) for yourself.  

Make Magnets to Remind Yourself of What's In the Refridgerator

 Hello Readers. I can be forgetful. I try to make sure everything important is in my calendar, I put all my important items by the door the night before so I don't forget them when I leave in the morning. But one thing I never remember is to cook and use all the fresh produce in the refrigerator. I needed a way to remind myself what I had so I could use it all. Groceries are expensive, I don't want to waste them.

These homemade magnets are going to help me.

I found these magnets while shopping on Amazon. They are actually like little pockets to hold a small photo with a magnet on the back. They are going to help me remember what I bought and hopefully get me to eat more fresh produce.

I started by writing the name of the fruit or vegetable. I also drew a picture on a small piece of note paper. My youngest child saw this and really wanted to get involved so this became a family activity. He helped draw the pictures and write the names. We also talked about what fruits and veggies we liked and bought most often. 

When the picture was ready, I slid it into the pocket. The magnet is on the back so this is a very easy project. I just stuck the magnet on the fridge.

We made a magnet for every fruit and veggie we could think of. We skipped things we don't ever eat. You can customize this for your shopping and eating habits.

In the end I decided to put all the foods we had on-hand to the left. The magnets on the right are not currently in stock. You could put your magnets at eye level so you can see them easily and put the ones you don't need to see down lower or on the side of the refrigerator. You could also put pictures of leftovers or things about to expire on the magnet pictures. As always, do whatever works best for you.

I hope this idea helps you. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- These are still on my fridge and my son loved making them. They do help me remember what I have but I still forget at times.