Paper Magnets -- 2016 Edition

Last year I made paper heart magnets with tatting for the 2015 North Carolina Regional Lacers Spring Lace Day goody bags. It was so much fun that I volunteered to do it again this year with a new design. This year I used a star shaped paper punch to punch out the shapes using Strathmore 300 Series Watercolor paper. Each star is 4 cm across or about 1.5 inches.

Since I had to make about 100 magnets, I tatted a very simple design:

• Make a ring of 5 ds p 2ds p 2ds p 2ds p 2ds p 5ds 
• Close ring
• Don't turn the work
• Repeat 2 times

I tatted the individual motifs in long strings and cut each one apart when I was ready to mount them on the paper. That way I didn't waste time starting and stopping the tatting, and the strings are easier to keep track of until I've finished making enough.

I used two different shades/brands of gold size 80 threads. The darker motifs are Lizbeth in color #699 "Harvest Gold." The lighter motifs are tatted with vintage J&P Coats tatting thread in color #43. 

The stars are painted with a coat of Mod Podge Extreme Glitter. After this coat dries, the tatted motifs are glued on with more Mod Podge. Later one final swipe is added to make sure all the thread is securely tacked down and all the surface has glitter. I cut pieces of peel and stick magnets into small squares and affix them to the back of each star to complete the project.

Here's an enlarged closeup of the final magnet. Came out pretty well, I think.