Valentine’s Day dictionary page magnets are an easy holiday craft project for kids and adults! With free printable circle templates, the project comes together quickly in a single afternoon.
When I released free Valentine’s Day dictionary page printables, I promised that I had my own DIY project in works for them. Dictionary page magnets are so much fun and create easy festive home decor, perfect for any season or holiday. Valentine’s Day is no exception. Homemade magnets look right at home on any fridge, filing cabinet, or magnetic chalkboard.
In addition to creating your own home decor, handmade magnets make quick, simple gifts and party favors for classroom parties, birthday parties, bridal showers, and baby showers.
Yes, you can easily create dictionary page magnets using the full dictionary page printables. But I’ve made the project even simpler for you by creating free printable digital collage sheets. Instead of printing multiple full pages and punching out small circles, you can punch all the circles you need out of one or two sheets of card stock.
I also created free printable square templates that are slightly larger than the circle templates to give you more creative freedom for magnets and other handmade projects. You can use them to cut or punch squares, circles, hearts, etc. for various projects, again, without printing full sheets.
Supplies for DIY Valentine’s Day dictionary page magnets
- 30mm transparent clear glass cabochons
- Metal bottle caps. You can use your own recycled bottle caps (which is what I did for this tutorial), or you can purchase recycled or new bottle caps.
- 1/4″ x 1/16″ neodymium magnets, one for each magnet. For large quantities, I recommend Amazon. For small quantities, I recommend Michaels. It’s much less expensive to buy neodymium magnets in bulk. However, not everyone needs 100 magnets.
- Valentine’s Day dictionary page collage sheets (see below)
- White card stock
- 1″ paper punch
- Diamond glaze
- E-6000 adhesive
- Q-tips
- Acrylic spray (optional, see note under the templates)
For the glass magnets that aren’t circles that are pictured in this tutorial, I used the following cabochons.
- Square: 25mm x 25mm square clear glass dome cabochon
- Heart: 25mm heart shape clear glass cabochon
- Oval: 18mm x 25mm oval clear glass cabochon
A couple of supplies notes:
- A lot of glass magnet tutorials use Mod Podge instead of diamond glaze. Mod Podge does work. However, I prefer the aesthetic and texture of diamond glaze for both glass and bottle cap magnets.
- You can use any kind of craft magnets for your glass and bottle cap magnets that you like. Neodymium magnets are significantly stronger and smaller, which creates more professional, versatile magnets.
Homemade glass and bottle cap magnets make great gifts and party favors! If you gift your magnets, consider grabbing the following supplies for packaging.
- Full Valentine’s Day dictionary pages or regular dictionary pages printed on cardstock, cut into 3″ x 3.5″ rectangles. A paper cutter makes the job quick and easy, creating a professional finish.
- Flexible magnetic strip, cut into 1/8″ width pieces
- Tacky glue
- 4″ x 6″ clear treat bags
I have more details about packaging magnets in my sheet music glass magnets tutorial.
Download your FREE Valentine’s Day dictionary page digital collage sheets!
I’ve created three versions of the Valentine’s Day dictionary page circle templates: plain, with hearts, and with sketchy hearts. The circles measure 1.05,” which is just slightly larger than the paper punch you’ll be using. I find this sizing makes it easier to punch accurate circles without any white borders.
[PLAIN Valentines’s Day Dictionary Page Circles]
[HEARTS Valentines’s Day Dictionary Page Circles]
[SKETCHY HEARTS Valentines’s Day Dictionary Page Circles]
I also created a Valentine’s Day dictionary page square template with 2″ squares. The template contains one square for each of ten Valentine’s-themed words with “kiss” and “love” repeated for 12 squares total.
[Valentines’s Day Dictionary Page Squares]
Please note: If you print your dictionary page templates with an ink-jet printer, give it a couple of coats of acrylic spray before making your magnets. The acrylic spray prevents the ink from running. If you use a laser printer, you don’t need to coat the paper.
The Valentine’s Day dictionary page digital collage sheets are for personal use only. You may print them as many times as you like to create items for yourself or to give as gifts. You aren’t authorized to sell the templates or any items that you make with the templates.
Please don’t distribute the templates directly. If family, friends, and co-workers are interested in making their own magnets and other crafts, please direct them to this post, so they can download their own templates. Thank you!
How to make Valentine’s Day dictionary page magnets
For both types of magnets, start by downloading and printing the dictionary page circle templates of your choosing. If you use an ink-jet printer, give them a couple of coats of acrylic spray. Allow the spray to set completely.
Use a 1″ circle punch to punch out the circles.
Glass magnets
Wipe down the cabochons with a damp paper towel or microfiber cloth to remove any dust and debris. Allow them to dry completely.
Apply a pea-sized amount of diamond glaze to the back of each cabochon to adhere the dictionary page circles. Smooth the dictionary pages into place, facedown. Use a damp paper towel to wipe away any excess diamond glaze. Let the glaze dry completely.
Apply a pea-sized amount of diamond glaze to the back of each cabochon to seal the dictionary pages. Use the diamond glaze tip or a Q-tip to smooth the glaze evenly, eliminating any large air bubbles. I am not meticulous about removing small air bubbles, as no one will see them on the backs of the magnets. Allow the glaze to dry completely.
In a well-ventilated location, use a Q-tip to apply a small drop of E-6000 adhesive to the center of each cabochon back. Stick a neodymium magnet in the adhesive. Wipe away any excess glue. Let the adhesive dry for a full 24 hours before handling the magnets.
Bottlecap magnets
Gather your bottlecaps. If you’re using recycled bottle caps, wash them and let them dry completely.
Apply a pea-sized amount of diamond glaze to the inside of each bottle cap. Distribute the diamond glaze evenly. Smooth the dictionary page circles into place, wiping away any excess diamond glaze. Allow the glaze to dry completely.
Apply a pea-sized amount of diamond glaze to the top of each dictionary page circle. Distribute the diamond glaze evenly. Use the diamond glaze tip or a Q-tip to remove any air bubbles. It’s all but impossible to remove every single air bubble. Do your best to get rid of the largest bubbles. Wipe away any excess diamond glaze. Let the glaze dry completely.
In a well-ventilated area, use a Q-tip to apply a small drop of E-6000 adhesive to the center of each bottle cap. Stick a neodymium magnet in the adhesive. Let the adhesive dry for a full 24 hours before handling the magnets.
DIY Valentine’s Day dictionary page magnet variations
Other shapes
In my sheet music glass magnets tutorial, I used a few non-circle shapes for my magnets. I used those same shapes – oval, heart, and square – for my Valentine’s Day dictionary page magnets as well.
For the non-circle shapes, grab the square dictionary page template and use the glass components to trace each shape. You’ll need to cut them down slightly from there. This process is little more fiddly making circle magnets. I love the aesthetic, though, and enjoy mixing shapes on a filing cabinet or chalkboard.
- Square: 25mm x 25mm square clear glass dome cabochon
- Heart: 25mm heart shape clear glass cabochon
- Oval: 18mm x 25mm oval clear glass cabochon
Added details
You may have already noticed in a few of the pictures in this post that I added details to some of my Valentine’s Day dictionary page magnets. The first way I added details to the magnets is to punch and glue tiny hearts. I love these tiny hearts and think that the size is just perfect for the magnets.
The second way I added details to the magnets was to glue one or several heart-shaped buttons. Unfortunately, the buttons I used from Oriental Trading aren’t available anymore. I also love these miniature heart buttons from WhiteElephantCrafts, which are available in multiple colors.
I love the dimensional element that the hearts add to the magnets. You can only add buttons to the bottlecap magnets while you can add tiny paper hearts to the glass or bottlecap magnets.
Note: I add the tiny paper hearts and the button hearts with scrapbookers glue before applying the final coat of diamond glaze.
Necklaces
In addition to magnets, I created a couple of other Valentine’s Day items with my Valentine’s Day dictionary pages. I turned a few of my dictionary pages into pendant necklaces.
For the first set of necklaces, I swapped magnets for bails and completed them with 18″ chain necklaces and lobster clasp fasteners. I only used bottlecaps for these necklaces, but the glass components are great, too.
- Bronze: chain | lobster clasps | jump rings
- Silver: chain | lobster clasps | jump rings
- Gold: chain | lobster clasps | jump rings
All of the chains come with some lobster clasps and jump rings. If you plan on making more than half a dozen necklaces, I recommend picking up extra lobster clasps and jump rings.
For the second set of necklaces, I picked up a set of silver bezel pendant trays with glass dome hearts. I cut the hearts out of the dictionary page squares, and glued them to the glass dome hearts, just as I did with the heart magnets. Then I adhered them to the silver bezel pendant trays with a final layer of diamond glaze. As with the first set of necklaces, I finished them with 18″ chain necklaces and lobster clasp fasteners.
If you like this aesthetic, there are lots of pendant/glass sets in different metals and shapes available on Amazon and Etsy. On Etsy, I love theglassconnection‘s selection of inventory.
Ornaments
Finally, I turned a few of my bottlecaps into ornaments. Just like the necklaces, I swapped magnets for bails.
Then I cut 9-10″ lengths of the ribbon, twine, and metallic braid of your choosing. I strung the ribbon, twine, and braid through the bails, double knotting the ends as tightly as possible. I cut off any excess stringing material.
I’ll be sharing several DIY Valentine’s ornaments for a holiday mini tree next week! I only used the bottlecaps for ornaments, but glass components work great as well.
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Did you make the Valentine’s Day dictionary page magnets?
I want to see them! Tag your images #RoseClearfield on Instagram or Twitter or post a photo to my Facebook page.
Pin the Valentine’s Day dictionary page magnets tutorial for easy access later!
I also have a tutorial for DIY sheet music magnets!
Do you enjoy crafting with vintage dictionary pages?
I have a huge collection of antique dictionary page printables!