Just for Fun Scrappy Robot Magnets

We haven’t done craft posts on this blog in a while.  (Unless you count the Tiny Bloggers’ posts… which we don’t, because they are real tiny bloggers and not actually us doing crafts.)  I think we’ve both just been really busy and have been prioritizing larger, more impactful projects.  When you are starved for time, making a practically useless thing just for fun doesn’t seem like a priority for some reason!

However, I recently took a few days off from work for a mini staycation to get some stuff done at home.  It was a bit of a bummer (I ended up coming down with a bad cold and being laid out on the couch for much of it) but Brad and I did do some much needed clean-out tasks.  I also found myself with a few unscheduled hours to use however I liked.  Luxury!

I had a craft in mind.  On pinterest, I’d recently become semi-obsessed with a few wooden robot toys that popped up in my feed.  Aren’t they cute?

I’ve always found both robots and hardware cute for some reason, so the combination is irresistible.  I figured I’d make my own version, and use them as magnets.  We always need more magnets.

I assembled a few basic supplies: a piece of scrap wood, magnet backing, and some miscellaneous pieces of hardware.

I then cut the wood down into thin blocks using my circular saw.  I didn’t go very thick so they would be light enough to be used as magnets, and I over-sanded the edges so they’d have a worn-down look.

Inspired by the 3rd of the images above, I cut a mouth onto each piece using a saw.

To help the mouth stand out, I ran the tip of a well sharpened pencil down through it, coloring in some of the cut.

Then for each of them, I just played around with different combinations of hardware until I found something I liked.  I also knew that I couldn’t put anything too large through the top or sides since I had cut them thin, and since this particular wood cracks really easily.

I wanted one with nails on it’s head:

One featuring bolts:

And using a little shelf-stopper as an eye patch:

Once I had them put together, I attached the magnet backing with a bit of wood glue to be sure it would stay secure.

Here they are assembled!

You probably don’t find them as cute as I do, but I think they’re just about the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.

The magnets aren’t super strong, but they are strong enough to hold themselves up, and small slips of paper.

(Of course, that’s not actually my fridge… but you’ll forgive me because this is a blog, after all.)

It’s a silly craft for sure, but I’ll always smile when I go by these guys, and they were a blast to make.  They’d be a fun craft to do with kids because the tools needed are so simple, and there really isn’t a wrong way to assemble them!

And these were so quick to make that I still have a little bit of my “spare time” left… maybe I’ll go get ice cream?