Save the Date with 8-bit heart magnets

Guest post by Baconkins

Tribesmaid Baconkins made these adorkable pixelated heart magnet, affixed with her wedding date. Here's how she made them herself.

img 20120514 2050591 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Tools needed:

heart alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
Step 1
Find a pattern you want. I used Microsoft Paint to come up with my own design. It took a couple of times to get it right, but I finally got it. You can basically do this with any simple shaped pattern. You will need two sizes of it, print it out, and then cut the shapes out using scissors.

(Note: if you use my pattern you might have to re size because I believe the one I have prints a little large. The large shape was about three inches and the smaller one was about two inches.)

img 20120427 162841 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
Step two:
You are going to decide what colors you want for what size. I used the smaller heart on the yellow and the bigger ones on the light blue.

img 20120429 103917 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)I took the cut out pattern and traced it onto the felt using a black felt pen. The reason I used the felt pen was because it was the only one that allowed the ink to flow onto the felt with out too much work.

img 20120430 113902 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)Find a system that works for you. I tiled the patterns to get the most space out of the felt since we are working with a budget.

img 20120429 005404 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
Step three:
Cut out your shapes. This is the part that takes the longest. Make sure you have sharp scissors because if not you are going to be hacking at the felt a lot.

img 20120429 104019 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)You also wind up with a lot of little felt pieces so have a trash bag near by.

img 20120430 133212 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)Put the felt shapes in piles to keep organized when done.

Step four:
Take your ribbon and cut it into about 2 1/2 inch strips. You can always go longer but I didn't want them too far out.

img 20120513 162125 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
Step five:
Now that all the ribbon is cut, take your number stamps and ink pad and start stamping. Because these are going on the Save the Date cards I figured I would put the date.

Because I was working with a tight wallet, I got some of the clear rubber stamps that were on sale. They were kinda sticky on the back so I placed them on a thick pen cap. If you have block stamps that is awesome too.

I put out about 20 ribbon strips at a time and did production line-style work. I feel it made it go by fast. Lastly don't forget you will need to dot in between numbers so people get it is a date and not just random numbers on a ribbon. Also you will want to leave about half an inch to and inch for gluing.

img 20120514 102244 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
Step six:
Make sure the ink is dry on the ribbon and cut the corners or ends. I made mine look like a flag. Don't forget to burn the edges a little so you won't get fraying down the line.

img 20120514 102324 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
Step seven:
Using Tacky glue, run a line down the part of the ribbon that will be covered up by the smallest shape.

img 20120514 102400 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
Then take the glued part and attach it to the back of the shape. Make sure it is the part with left over pen marks on it because that way it will be hidden.

Step eight: (optional)
I wanted a more crafty look so I took white thread and sewed an outline on the yellow pixel hearts. You will be able to see what I am talking about in the final pic. It makes it look sewn onto the blue heart but there is less chance of screwing the placement up if you glue them together.

Step nine:
I glued along the threading that I made on the yellow heart with the Tacky glue. Then I place the yellow heart (smaller shape) on the blue one (larger shape). Note the blue one should not have any pen marks showing when placing the smaller shape on it. This way it will be hidden.

img 20120514 205124 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
Step ten:
Stick the adhesive magnet on the back of the larger shape. And there you go. Best part is I think I only spent no more than $25!

img 20120514 2050591 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

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Comments on Save the Date with 8-bit heart magnets

  1. I saw this and was like ‘zomg, I have perlers!’

    I think I’ll use those for this! Thank you so much, I was lost on what to do for my save the dates!!

  2. OMG this is awesome! Cute, simple and I’ve been trying to fidn a way to incorporate some dorky Photobooth pictures into our Save-the-dates!

    Thanks again for sharing 🙂

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