DIY Magnetic Palettes--Picture Heavy

I have done magnetic palettes in the past. One was using CD/DVD cases and is shown here. I'll have to admit that this was a bit of a pain to do since you have to cut out the section where the cd/dvd is inserted. It was time-consuming and needed the use of an exacto knife with some precise cutting. I will definitely not be making these any more.

You can actually make your own magnetic palettes easily and rather inexpensively. Here are the main supplies that you will need:

I've been an avid crafter of various crafts for years. I've included a paper cutter and xyron craft machine, but these are not absolutely necessary. There is also decorative papers, a corner rounder, again not necessary to have, cardboard, scissors, duct tape and sticky-back magnet sheet roll. You can buy the magnet sheets in small packages too but I find it more economical to buy the large roll. If you are making a simple magnetic palette, then all you would really need to purchase is the magnet sheets.

The next thing you need to decide on is the housing unit. I like to find things and figure out various ways that I can use them. Here's items that I have used to create my magnetic palettes:

After going through my cabinet, I realized that I had more palettes than I realized! There's a watercolor paint box, some cute tins, some of which I bought and I think the main use was as a pencil/pen container, cd//dvd case, discount store container sets (which are supposed to be pill cases and I have featured here before) and stacking containers.

Paintbox:

I had seen this idea somewhere online. I think it was on Youtube but it could have been a blog post. I really wish that I could remember where I had seen it so that I could give proper credit but I honestly do not remember. I bought this particular brand at WalMart for only $1.97! The paint tray comes out very easliy and I just carefully cracked off the top tab, which is used for hanging purposes. I used a heavy duty scissors to round off any sharp edges. You could easily just cut the magnet sheet to size and stick it in. The person who I saw this idea from also added the use of decorative duct tape to cover the black magnet and make it look pretty! Although it's not necessary, I thought it was a clever idea.

The addition of the duct tape on the magnet didn't seem to lessen the magnetic power. Very inexpensive and easy DIY palette.

Purchased Tins:

My friends sell stationery items which they bring in from Japan and Korea. I usually help them at their trade shows several times a year. A couple years back they brought in these tins, which I assume were for pencils and pencils. I got two larger ones--one in Sentimental Circus and the other in Hello Kitty.

For these, I just put the magnet sheet on the bottom. The tins are actually deep so I decided to make a divider so that I could have another layer. (You can see the 2nd layer placed in the cover of the tin for picture taking purposes. I can actually do a third layer. For my divider, I used thin cardboard, and stuck decorative paper to one side. This is where my xyron machine comes in handy because I can run it through that using the permanent adhesive cartridge. After I have the paper stuck onto the cardboard,I again ran it through the xyron but this time using the laminate cartridge. Place magnet sheet onto undecorated side of the cardboard. You don't have use a xyron machine but instead use double-stick tape to tape the decorative paper onto the cardboard and then use a self-laminating sheet to cover the entire cardboard. The reason for laminating the decorated side is so that you can easily wipe it clean. Another alternative is to use the decorative duct tape and no laminating is necessary.

The dividers:

Another thing that I like to do, is cut a swifter sheet to size and place it on top of my pans. I like that it catches any particles and helps to prevent it from going into the other pans.

I also purchased a skinny tin and it perfectly fits a row of MAC-sized pans.

Repurposed Tins:

I got a couple of super cute tins as gifts. One was a Hello KittyxLiberty London with lipgloss inside. The other was a Hello Kitty mint tin. 

The Hello KittyxLiberty London tin is nice in that it has a clear plastic window so you can actually see what's inside. It's quite deep too so this will have several layers.

The mint tin is really small but will fit 3 MAC-size pans, which makes it perfect if you want to take some eyeshadows with you for touching up and glamming up before going out after work.

This next tin is the whole reason why I really got into making my own palette. A couple of years ago, my grandson came for a visit from Japan. Although barely 2 years old at the time, he knew that I loved Hello Kitty and gave me the tin. It actually had something else in it--either candy or stickers that was for keeping him busy on the airplane. 
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If you place two business cards, one over the other. it is just about that height but not quite as wide as a business card. I felt that this would make for the perfect travel palette. It is quite deep so I can have 3 layers. It is still a work in progress but for now, the bottom layer is all the eyeshadows that I intend to take for traveling. It can fit 8 pans.

The middle layer has two blushes and two MAC-sized pans.

The top layer has a third blush and one depotted Naked Palette pan and one MAC-sized pan. I also have a mini nail file in there, which I will explain shortly.

I do not plan on traveling with 3 blushes but will take two with me. I the eyeshadows in the middle layer will also not go with me but I may want to add a couple more to round out the neutral colors.

I also made a larger, separate magnet plate, or working palette, for me to put the pans that I will be using for the day when I do my makeup. Since everything is crammed pretty close together, I prefer separating the colors that I will be using for easier access while doing my FOTD. For this I used an old Amazon card.

Following my divider creation technique, I used the deocrative duct tape to cover one side and magnet sheet on the other. 

I will use the nail file to easily lift up the dividers to pull it out more easily and to help me to move around and lift up the pans to pull out to put onto this working palette. When not in use, the working palette is stuck to the bottom of my tin.

I find that this is perfect for a traveling palette. It actually takes up less space and I'm taking more color options than when I've traveled in the past.

100 Yen Store Containers:

Lastly, are these 100 Yen Store containers. I actually found these in my local Don Quijote Store and the price here is $1.99. The main purpose of these are to be used as pill cases. I really love these as they come as several containers enclosed in a container!

There are also different options. One has two types of pill cases-a small one with 3 small compartments and 3 larger, 2-compartment cases. The other style has the same one small and one of the larger 2-compartment case and one large case. I really like this one and I wrote about another case very similar to this except it didn't have the small 3-compartment case. You can see it here. At that time, I didn't know what I would use the 2-compartment cases for but I figured that one out now! You can actually make use of all of them together or separately. The large case that everything is housed in can have the magnet sheet placed on the bottom and still fit the other containers in. The smaller 2-compartment containers can fit 2 layers of 2 rectangular pans or 2 layers of 1 MAC-sized round pan.

If you have 2 sets of that in the larger "host" container, then you can have a total of 16 rectangular pans or 8 round pans. You can then have 2 layers of 2 each blush pans! This also makes for a very convenient travel palette!

In a future post, I will talk about the pan sizes that I am using in these pictures.

I am thinking if there is interest, I can use these to make, customize and sell empty magnetic palettes. I can include it with empty pans or without. It's just a thought for now.

If you have read up till the end, thank you! This was a very long post and I hope that you found it interesting and informative.

*Kat*