utee inchie pear magnets by cindy lyles

 

CLUE #7

Take your first hint from within this post and go back to the store to find a "hot" product "to dye for", it will make you "melt" even during this chilly time of year.

ETA: Direct Link to Clue #8

Today's post encases Inchies in small, clear wafers to create durable magnets.  I've wanted to encapsulate treasured Inchies in a functional manner, yet still be able to touch and handle the Inchies on a whim.

Lockhart Stamp Company's IB Pear image was stamped onto a 7/8" square of white cardstock and colored with Copic markers. Image was stamped again onto script paper and cut out.  Small scale red script paper (both papers - 7gypsies) decorated the white square, and the edges of both pear cutout and 7/8" white square were delicately sponged with Distress Vintage Photo ink with an ink blending tool. 

Adhere pear cutout to square, then mount the 7/8" decorated white square onto a 1" Black Inchie Square.

Prepare heat-resistant silicone ice cube tray by centering a neodymium (or other, strong) magnet into a well.  If using a neodymium magnet I suggest doing one Inchie magnet at a time or at the very least space them several wells apart, as the pull force of the these magnets is incredible.  One of these magnets can support fifteen sheets of paper easily.

Add Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (utee) combined with UTEE Flex - a hardener, making the final product quite sturdy - into a Melting Pot (utee, flex, melting pot: Ranger) on the highest setting.  Cover, and allow the granular products to melt completely.

Pour melted utee mix over magnet in ice cube tray until just barely covered. 

Working quickly while utee is still molten, insert completed Inchie and tap firmly into place.  Pour a thin layer of utee over top of Inchie.  The photo above shows the air bubbles that natually occur.  To eliminate these, use a preheated heat tool (turn on your heat gun and let run about 10 seconds to warm up) to gingerly to pop the surface air bubbles.

Should the intial layer of utee harden, you can easily re-liquify it using your heat tool.

Allow utee Inchie to cool then gently pop from ice cube tray.

I created another Inchie using the same red script paper and a White Inchie Square, then colored with Copic markers. The base is a 1-1/4" square of Memory Box Licorice cardstock.  The process was repeated to create a second magnet.

 

Immediately upon removing each utee Inchie, carefully pop out the magnet with a hobby blade or other sharp implement.  Use superglue to re-attach the magnet and secure it permanently.

Comments

[Sharon Harnist]

This is incredible, Cindy -- love the idea and look of these! Guess I need a melting pot now, LOL!

[-mary]

So cute! I LOVE playing with melted UTEE. You can create some amazing stuff.

WARNING: It gets VERY HOT - don't ask me how I know! Ouch! ;-0

Thanks for the tutorial.

-mary s.

[Kathy V.]

What a fun idea. I haven't played with UTEE for quit awhile. Now where did I put that pot?

[Jenn E.]

fantastic step-outs, Cindy! Love what you did.

[Beverly]

These are so cute. What a great idea! Not too big so they will fit nicely into magnet collections on most anybody's fridge. Thanks.