Quick and easy recycled cork floral magnets

My fridge is loaded with magnets of all sorts.  I use them to hold up notes for the family, photos, and grocery lists.  They are useful on lockers and other metal surfaces as well.  These magnets are pretty and cost pretty much nothing. For the magnet I used the bulbous tops of recycled champagne corks and magnets removed from a shower curtain liner!  Add some paint and glue and little imagination and you can have a whole fridge full in no time flat!  These would be great to make as group projects for senior centers, etc.  If you don’t have any corks, you can buy champagne corks in craft stores or online, or even ask local restaurants to save some for your group.

You will need:

For each magnet- Recycled champagne cork

Magnet purchased ones or recycled from the bottom of an old shower curtain liner

Acrylic paint, red, white, yellow, brown, black and green

Small flat brush

Liner brush

Paper plate for a palette

Gloss sealer

Glue gun and glue sticks

Fine sand paper

1.     Cut the top off the champagne cork right where it narrows.  You will be using the top button part only. 

2.     Prepare the cork by sanding off any writing and smoothing on both sides. 

For rose:

1.     Apply some red and white acrylic paint on a paper plate.  Using the small flat brush add some red paint to one side and white paint to the other.  Brush on the plate to blend in the center. 

2.     For the center of the rose, make a stroke with white side of the brush facing up in an arc shape.  Turn the brush and with the white side of the brush facing down brush in a curve meeting the two strokes.  Reload your brush.

3.     Continue working around the center Making petals with the red towards the center and the white around the edges of the petals.  When you have finished use a liner brush to further define the white and red areas.  Using green paint, make a leaf and stem down the side.  Let dry completely.  

For sunflower:

1.     Use the flat brush and brown paint to make a round shape in the center of the cork.

2.     Make petal shapes all around with yellow paint. 

3.     Use the liner brush to make black dots around the brown center and some in the center itself.  Line the petals with brown paint and let dry completely.  

To finish brush on clear gloss sealer and glue the magnets to the back.