DIY: Magnetic Refrigerator Picture Frames
Is your refrigerator a bland, boring surface? Dress it up with easy-to-make customized magnet picture frames. Home Depot crafts expert Rheney Williams has the scoop on how to spruce up your refrigerator.
When you think of refrigerator magnets, do obnoxiously loud, brightly colored, oversized pieces of plastic fruit from the 1980s come to mind?
Or maybe your frame of reference is on the other end of the spectrum and the best you can hope for (to avoid the dreaded fruit debacle) is securing a loose photo to the fridge by slapping up a piece of clear tape and calling it a day?
The truth is that the front of the refrigerator is easily the most underutilized surface in the entire kitchen. But thankfully, tacky magnets and taped up photos aren’t your only option – not when you realize how easy (and inexpensive) it is to make your own customized refrigerator magnet picture frames.
I’ll show you how to dress up your refrigerator with two variations on the same simple wooden frame that will have you singing the praises of your sophisticated new surface in no time!
As you can see at right, although this stainless steel refrigerator is beautiful, it looks sadly bare. It’s time for a remedy!
I started with two coordinating decorative wood frames from my local craft store, one square and one rectangle.
I sprayed each with a metallic silver spray paint and allowed them to dry overnight.
Next, I cut strips of self-adhesive magnetic sheets (available at your favorite craft store) to fit each of the four sides of the frames. Turn the frames over and apply the strips to the back.
At this point, I chose to leave one of my frames with its shimmery metallic finish. For the other, I moved on to the “bedazzling” phase of the project (that’s an 80s fad that I embrace whole-heartedly!).
I selected little rhinestone diamonds in clear and black and applied them to the edge of the frame. I used a thin paint brush and dabbed on a layer of Mod Podge before individually placing each rhinestone using a pair of tweezers.
You can purchase a craft tool to help you place the stones (it looks like a pen and works like an upside down Pez dispenser, dropping out the stones when you click the top) but if you have steady hands and were halfway decent at the game of Operation, you really don’t need it. At the end, the effort is definitely worth it.
I lined the entire bottom row with clear diamonds and then alternated black and clear for the other three sides. This way, I can keep the clear on the top or the bottom and have the surrounding sides as anchors for my picture.
Avoid applying the Mod Podge too far ahead of your stone placement, otherwise it will dry before you get to it. And once you place the stones, try not to move them or mess with them as they’ll slide around.
Give yourself a couple of inches of bedazzling and you’ll find that you can get into a rhythm and it’s actually rather relaxing!
Allow the frame to dry and then you’re ready to address your refrigerator dressing.
The frames I used were actually a little on the small side for my large refrigerator surface. These would have been perfect for a side-by-side French door refrigerator.
But that’s another great thing about using magnets: Less is usually more. The last thing you want is to clutter the surface of your refrigerator, so use your discretion.
No matter how many you use, I love how flat they are from the side. And by painting them a metallic stainless steel color, it almost appears as if you’ve opened a portal into the refrigerator and a colorful picture is emerging!
You can also play around with the arrangement of the photos and swap them out at will. Just be sure to keep the surface of your stainless steel refrigerator sparkling and the frames will only enhance the custom feel of your kitchen!
What kind of refrigerator magnet frame are you going to make?
Rheney Williams writes about her DIY home craft projects for Home Depot. Rheney’s recently remodeled kitchen in her Charleston, S.C., home is now adorned with her creations. To view Home Depot’s appliance page showcasing their wide selection of refrigerators, including stainless steel models like Rheney’s, click here.
Fruit magnets image courtesy of Shutterstock. All other images courtesy of Rheney Williams.
