My friend Jana had a wonderful idea for playgroup yesterday. We made magnets out of Play-Doh!
You will need:
- Play-Doh
- Cookie cutters
- Rolling pin (or glasses)
- Magnet backs
Good to have:
- Wax paper
- Glitter
- A sealant (acrylic spray, Modge Podge, etc)
The Project:
She had the kids roll out the Play-Doh and cut out shapes. We set them off to the side to dry. After they are completely dry, she’ll attach the magnet and seal them with acrylic spray to make them more durable.
Tips:
- Jana used wax paper as mats under the kids’ work areas, and it worked out great! It was easy to lift the designs and move them off to the side to dry, and the kids did a good job keeping their messes on the wax paper. Genius!
- Jana used pre-stick magnets, but they come off easily. We are going to hot glue them.
- I might have had more fun doing this project than the kids! I made little Play-Doh balls and rope snakes to decorate the letters of my kids’ names, then used the rolling pin to press the designs into the letter. It turned out really great!
- Jana had her son make all the letters of the alphabet to use on their fridge. (He has little finger prints and marks on the letters, and they are really personalized. It’s adorable!)
- You could probably cut out shapes one day and use a second session to color and decorate the dried Play-Doh designs with markers and glitter before sealing them and finishing them with the magnets.
- I can’t help but wonder what would happen if you mixed glitter into the Play-Doh while it was still wet. I might try sprinkling the flattened Play-Doh with glitter and lightly rolling it once more to make sure the glitter sticks before cutting the shapes. (If anyone tries -or has already- doing this, let me know what you think!)
