Saturday February 28, 2026
Magnets: A Love Affair
My hobby and obsession
How it started…
In 2020, the Marks marbling machine was in full swing.
By then I had a few years of experience with marbling under my belt. I was using my papers primarily as a unique cover for my hand-bound books. I was also making a lot of bookmarks with the smaller pieces of paper around this time.
And yet my mind was constantly scheming. Even the small scraps of paper are so beautiful—What’s a marbled paper product I haven’t seen others making that could utilize the little bits?
Left: Some marbled-cover journals
Above: Early marbled bookmarks with tassel
Right: Selecting paper for my first generation of marbled magnets
The idea came to me after a long stint of quilting and bookmaking during COVID lockdown.
I learned the decoupage technique for gluing paper to glass cabochons on Yotube (basically making mini paperweights). Once I figured out the process, I was instantly obsessed! I bought the crystal-clear glass pieces on Etsy to use. The slight magnification and shininess of the glass enhanced the color as if the paper were still wet. I couldn’t get over how the colors popped! Magnet production was a fast and novel project after going through the long days of sewing pages, gluing, and binding journals.
My first generation of marbled magnets (now sold out).
Rectangles, circles, and squares. The rectangles were my favorite! I painted the backs with gold paint to cover the raw paper.
I loooooved taking photos of them for social media! They’re very photogenic.
The most fun part about magnet production was covering my whole fridge with them!
It was January 2022 during a bad snowstorm.
I had brought home a few bags of jumbo glass gems used for floral arrangements from Joann’s, my employer at the time. I was curious if they would work as well as the jewelry cabochons to make magnets.
They did! And they became my preferred magnet substrate. The slight imperfection of the glass pieces added a touch of whimsy.
The little devil on my shoulder was egging me on at this point to branch out from just marbled paper. I made some magnets using seed catalogues my mom gave me, and then…
“Cut up the books!”
I started going to thrift stores searching for books to eviscerate. And I’m not sorry.
Old nature field guides are my favorite books to turn into magnets. The leftovers from the books get used in collages (waste not). I found a dictionary from 1946 full of illustrations that were the perfect size to fit under my glass pieces. Those I call, affectionately, “Dic Pics.”
Branching out …
The end of the love affair?
As much joy as I get making these, my desire is to become more focused on other artistic pursuits. These take time that I would rather devote to being in my sketchbook and painting for the foreseeable future. After taking time away I may have the sudden urge to make some more. But until then, my heart will go on to other things.
