Fridge Magnet Machine

January 25, 2014 Cozy house / Fridge magnets 5 468 0

After an interesting trip or a memorable event, the collection of souvenir magnets is replenished on our refrigerators. Funny or thematic, bas-relief or rectangular - they all remind us of pleasant moments of life. Sometimes there are so many of them that we no longer remember the history of their appearance. Another thing is a souvenir made personally. It takes very little time to create such a magnet. The process technology is very simple, and even a child can do it.

For work, prepare:
• a small handful of gypsum,
• two containers (for example, disposable cups),
• mold for casting,
• paints (gouache) and a brush,
• magnet
• glue (silicone or “Moment”),
• varnish (suitable for colorless manicure or for hair).

Before work, cover the workplace with newspaper and put on an apron. Take care not to inhale the gypsum dust. Safety first! You can even close your mouth and nose with a gauze mask.
The shape for the bas-relief can be made of silicone or plastic. Choose the image to your taste. In this case, this is a car. First you need to fix the mold in a horizontal position. If it is lying unevenly on the table, then simply place it on one of the cups.

Now we are preparing gypsum mortar in a second container. Take a disposable cup or plastic container from sour cream, which then do not mind throwing away. Pour a little water into it and, constantly stirring with a disposable spoon (also then throw it away), gradually pour in gypsum powder. Ready solution should remind good sour cream. If it is too thick, it can poorly fill in small cavities in the mold, and from a thin one it will turn out to be a fragile bas-relief that will break after the first blow.

Gently pour the resulting solution into the mold. It is better to make it a spoon, and not pour over the edge of the glass. To avoid voids, gently shake the mold or mix the gypsum with a toothpick. Remove excess mortar and smooth the surface. It should turn out smooth. Note that gypsum freezes in a few minutes, and you need to work quickly. In any case, do not pour the remains of gypsum into the sewer!

The workpiece should dry for a couple of hours, then carefully remove it from the mold and leave it in a horizontal position overnight until completely hardened.

Now get down to the fun part: coloring. Make sure that gouache does not flow or mix during operation. If the gypsum mixture after hardening has a grayish tint, then first cover the bas-relief with a layer of white gouache, let it dry and only after that paint.

When the paint dries, you can cover the figure with a colorless manicure varnish or hair spray. This extra layer will make the colors brighter and more saturated, and the figure - durable.