File under: Photography, Projects

Making Moo-gnets

10.20.06 | 53 Comments

So, when I received my Moo mini cards a couple of weeks back, I was so taken with how they felt and looked and how they worked together as a set, that I didn’t want to give them away. I seem to remember saying at the time that they were so sumptuous I wanted to eat them. Ahem.

That got me thinking: what if I did something else with them? What if I could use the cards’ form, but not for their intended function?

So I got to thinking about mounting them, somehow - lining them up and framing a load of them in a giant frame. I’m still sure that theat might work, but you’d have to find a way of ensuring that they didn’t slip out of alignment.

So then I started thinking about how to make things stay put…and that made me think: magnets.

….And THAT made me think: Moognets.

With a couple of simple supplies, and not a lot of time at all, I whipped up a set of fridge Moognets. The cards are just the right thickness for sticking on - any thinner and they’d be too flimsy. I think they look great!

I’m thinking about experimenting some more - perhaps with just food-related designs, or (even better!) individual words, so that I could use it like a giant set of magnetic fridge poetry. That would rock.

In the meantime, here’s how I did it:

Moognets: what you need
You will need: Moo mini cards, scissors, self-adhesive magnetic tape (20mm) - I got mine from ebay, but craft shops (especially model-making shops) may have it too - and a big, heavy book.

Moognets - 1: Chop
1. Chop lengths of magnetic tape with the scissors. The lengths should be about 1/2″ or so. You will need two for each magnet. (Incidentally, I tried using one continuous strip of tape across the entire back of a card, but it was a bit too magnetic - difficult to lift off a magnetic surface, plus I figured if you can get away with using less tape…more moognets!)

Moognets - 2: Stick
2. Peel off the tape backing and stick one little square at each end of the back of a moo card

Moognets - 3: Squash
3. Put on a flat surface and lie under a heavy book….Not you, silly: the moognet. Because the tape is stored on a roll, and therefore wants to naturally curl, you’ll need to make sure the adhesive sticks flat to the card. A nice heavy book should handle that: I like John Peel’s autobiography - a truly weighty tome. Also good for reading.

Moognets - 4: More
4. Repeat, until your fingers get bored. Set up a little production line. Recruit some elves, or small children. Don’t bother trying to get the cat involved, though: mine was having none of it.

Moognets - 5: Stack
5. You will soon have a nice juicy stack of moognets. You will feel chuffed. You should.

Moognets - 6: Attach
6. Attach to magnetic surface of your choice. Filing cabinets and drawers work.

Moognets - 7: Cool
7. As do fridges. Obviously.

Moognets - 8: Fin
8. Er, that’s it.

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