Think Crafts Blog – Craft Ideas and Projects – CreateForLess

By Paper Crafts Contributor, Lauren Romano.

I have two old keyboards that I never use and there’s no way I’m going to just toss them in the trash. If you’re dealing with the same predicament of having a few keyboards you feel bad about throwing out but you have no idea what to do with them, turn their keys into magnets. It’s super simple and will take you minutes to do. It’s also a fun project to do with the kids.

What you’ll need:

• Keyboard
• Metal spoon
• Self-adhesive round magnets
• Damp paper towel
• Mod Podge (optional)

Step 1. Use a damp paper towel to go over the top of the keyboard keys and get off some of the dust.

Step 2. Standard keyboard keys are more difficult to remove than laptop keyboard keys so this is where a spoon comes in. Put the tip of a spoon under one corner of the key you want to take off, then cup your other hand over the key as you use the spoon to pop it off. Putting your hand over it is necessary; I didn’t do it the first time and the key flew across the room and hit my dog in the head.

Step 3. When you pop off the keys you want, use the damp paper towel to wipe them down.

Step 4. Peel off the backing from a single round self-adhesive magnet, then press it onto the back of the keyboard key.

Optional step – If the magnet doesn’t stick well onto the key, put a drop of Mod Podge onto the back of it and press it down until it sticks, then give it at least a few hours to dry until you use it.

When you have all your keys done, use them to put number or letter combinations on the fridge. The kids will even have fun doing it and it’s a much more eco-friendly option than using the large colored letter magnets.

By Guest Blogger Tracey, from the blog We Made That.

When I decided to make these I wanted to try several different ways to actually make the stepping stones, so I used a reusable circle mold, a round cake pan, and a flower mold. I also put wax paper in the two round molds and did not use the wax paper in the flower mold to see if that made it easier to remove the stones.

My findings are that all three molds worked great and the wax paper did make it a little easier to remove the stone but not a ton easier. Although I think if I did not use the wax paper with the cake pan I would not have gotten the mold out so if you use a cake pan or anything that is NOT made for this, line it with the wax paper so it is easier to remove the stone once dry.

We used the stepping stone mix you can buy at the craft store, but I think you can do this with cement if you have it too.

Supplies

• Stepping Stone Mix (or cement)
• Stick to mix the cement
• Mold (reusable mold or cake pan)
• Was paper (to line mold)
• Pretty stones (optional to decorate your stone)

Directions

Line your molds with some wax paper.

Mix your cement or stepping stone mix, then pour into molds.

If doing foot and hand prints make those, you can also use a Popsicle stick to write something in the cement if you choose.

If you choose use some pretty stones or other items to decorate your stepping stones (make sure to press in about half way so they stay in place).

After it is all decorated leave it to dry (we let them dry overnight but you don’t have to wait that long) then just pull the wax paper out and you have a beautiful homemade stepping stone that would make a great handmade gift.