magnets

That's right, magnets. That's what I decided to put into my recycled and altered gum dispenser. I'm afraid I wasn't at my most creative. I basically took the flower combination from the top of the lid and replicated it using the same four colors of card stock in slightly different configurations. I used crystal effects to glue a strong magnetic disc to the back of each paper flower and there you have it. In this picture the four magnets I made are very nicely sticking to a plain metal ruler.

And in this photo you can see the magnetic disks behind the flowers. these are heavy-duty thick magnets so I'm confident that the magnets will not only look good, they will be practical too!

This is what a stack of five magnets looks like. It's lopsided because of the brads I used for the centers of the flowers. But the good news is that the brads actually help all the flowers stick together, which means that they all come out of the cylinder at once when you tip it over. I think this is a good thing -- no need to fumble around the bottom of the container trying to get out that last stubborn magnet!

In the last picture you can see the stack of five magnets in the container. Obviously the container is not full. I will need to make a few more of these to fill it. And my prototype will, of course, be a gift to my girlfriend who originally supplied me with the container and (hopefully) will continue to supply me with more.

If you don't like the thought of filling these with magnets, how about decorated peppermint patties or chocolate kisses or mini peanut butter cups? Or, for a more practical office use, why not use crustal effects to glue as magnet to the inside of the lid and use the cup as a paperclip or binder clip holder?

This might also make a fun gift for a card maker if you filled it with lots of colorful punched shapes or bits of ribbon.

Really, the possibilities are endless!