DIY Pantone chip magnets | How About Orange

March 21, 2011

DIY Pantone chip magnets

I try to keep loose Pantone chips in an envelope for future projects, but these nice colors escaped and attached themselves to my file cabinet.

If you happen to own a Pantone chip book or can beg a few chips from someone you know, here's how to whip up some little candy-like magnets.

Cut small pieces of bookboard or other thick cardboard with an X-acto knife. (Bookboard is likely available at your local art store or PaperSource.) Make the pieces exactly the size of the Pantone chips. Then paint the edges white; I used acrylic paint for this.

Attach the chip to the cardboard. I tried using wet glue, but it made the chip curl. So instead I covered the back of each chip with double-stick tape which worked great.

Then cover the face of the chip with paper glaze. It dries with a clear, raised glass-like surface. There are a few products on the market; I used Aleene's Paper Glaze. Let it dry overnight.

Finally, attach a magnet to the back. I used a roll of self-adhesive magnet material, but you could use something stronger, or cut up those promotional magnets you get sometimes from companies.

123 comments:

Unknown said...

Those turned out so cute! I love the glossy look they have! :)

Laura said...

That glaze is perfect! I've been looking all over for something like that. Thanks for the link!

Cassidy said...

Those are so cute!

Jessica Jones said...

Laura, Diamond Glaze is another similar product.

whitneybee said...

These are fantastic! I may have to snag some of our unused color chips from work...

TrustIFS said...

What a GREAT way to recycle those loose chips :) Adorable!

Heather said...

I really like those!! I wish I had some lying around I could use!

amber said...

I LOVE these! I have no Pantone chips but have a lot of paint chips. I bet it could work the same way. What a good idea to use the glaze coating--gives it a very nice finished look. Thanks (as always) for the great ideas!

Jessica at Me Sew Crazy said...

oh I love these, they are adorable!!!

Grandma G said...

So pretty!

Celia said...

These are so coool! Thanks Jess!

www.ideamoda.com said...

Great idea!The colours are just great!

Anonymous said...

Oh how cute! What a great idea! I have a magnet board in my art room - im definitely going to make some of these :)

marymary said...

These are great. It makes me want to make one on a wooden background, attach a hanging bail, and have myself a pantone chip necklace (a la scrabble tile pendants).

Jessica Jones said...

You bet! Do it!

Megan Clark said...

LOVE these!!! You had me at 'Pantone'.

harvardmom said...

Could you apple this product to a small photo and get the same result? Thks for sharing a great idea.

Cammee said...

Oh my gosh, I love these. So cute. I'm thinking you could change them with the season.

Jessica Jones said...

Harvardmom, yep. I'd keep the photo quite small, since the larger the surface area, the more room for dimples and bubbles and whatnot. But sure, go for it!

Mayi Carles said...

Jess this project is sooooo awesome. Thank you so much for the inspiration :). I have a question about the glaze, is this the same as CRYSTAL LACQUER? I too want to use it for paper so I want to make sure I get it right :).

Julie said...

these are absolutely perfect! just love them. thanks for the tutorial!

Jessica Jones said...

Mayi, I'm not familiar with Crystal Lacquer, but after Googling it just now, I'd say it looks like the same thing. You could always test a little bit on a piece of paper or try it first on any extra Pantone chip that's not as great a color as orange. :)

Miki said...

Awe, what a cool idea! Your tutorials are the best! ;) Thanks for sharing!

Hope you're having a nice week!

Miki.

margaux said...

you always amaze me with the things you create! love it!

a. party style said...

LOVE these!!! You never cease to amaze me - so creative and talented! Keep up the great work and thanks for continually inspiring us.

Anne said...

What a wonderful idea! There is something so satisfying about a collection of little swatches of color, I have a huge stack of paint swatches I've collected from hardware stores just to look at them.

julie digs design said...

So Adorable!

aimee said...

Aaaahhh!! I love it!!

Bonjour! said...

,,,cute!,,,

tinajo said...

Very cute, love them! :-)

Jennifer said...

I love these! Such sleek but bright little happy spots in your office!

Spirit Cleanslate Creations said...

I love these what a wonderful splash of color!

Andrea said...

Love it1 I bet this could be done with paint swatches too

Tanya from Dans le Lakehouse said...

I love this idea. They are so cute and glossy. I'm wondering what else I could make using your technique . . .

elizabeth said...

groovy!

Michelle Ellen said...

These are super adorable... I'm going to have to dig up my Pantone chips (I even have fabric Pantones somewhere). Wee! Thank you.

Sonal said...

What a great idea...I love the way the paper glaze gives it the shine...will have to try it out.
Have had paper glaze blottle laying around for a long time now...will have to put it to use now.
http://nothingbetterthancrafting.blogspot.com/

Craftiness NOW said...

i'm in love with this idea! i want to go and buy all the supplies right now, especially the paper glaze, thanks so much for sharing :-)

Kristin said...

I am SO glad i held onto a whole book from spring cleaning a couple years ago! I would be willing to send a few to some people if they wanted to make some magnets.

Unknown said...

these are GREAT! now where can I get some pantone chips from.....

Jessica Jones said...

CAPow, note the comment right above yours :)

Rhianna said...

I have an out of date Pantone book that would be great for this project. Such a clever idea!

gertie @ The Old Block House said...

How super easy and wonderful! I'd never thought of using these for magnets.

kickpleat said...

this is all kinds of brilliant (and cute!). I love this.

senasmile said...

Great idea.....senasmiles :)

Mayi Carles said...

hahahahaha of course never test with orange pantone. that would be a crime ;). you are adorable jess. thanks for your kindness + answering my questions!

Nancy Hunt-Bartek said...

Recycling is always a good thing!
fondly, Nancy

Make Three said...

I love these! But I would probably become unemployed for using one of their Pantone books for magnets since I don't own my own. *drools with envy*

TKrusi said...

You know so well what makes an artist drool... super project!

Have you ever used the paper glaze on photos? How about fabric? Or is there another product especially for fabric?

Jessica Jones said...

I haven't used it on photos, but it works the same way on fabric—makes a clear, plasticky coating on it and doesn't seem to affect the color. Or maybe the color gets a little brighter, if anything.

Haylee said...

These are so creative! What a fun idea. I love the bright colors you used. Can you imagine actually having a wall painted in that bright of pink? ha, that would sure wake you up in the morning!

Jessica Nichols said...

I love the picture before the glaze dries just as much (if not more) than the finished photo.

I guess you can tell this DIY was a huge hit? :)

Jessica Jones said...

Yeah, apparently so. Everybody likes shiny, pretty colors, I guess!

Katie said...

Someone on etsy is selling Pantone Pendants. I was seriously considering buying one.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/gadgetgirl?section_id=7196260

NOW I can make my own (thanks to you). I just have to find me an out of date Pantone book. I'm sure you could use this for photos, paint chips and walpaper! Thanks so much! I cannot wait to try it.

Julissa Mora said...

What a great idea! Can't wait to try it out. :)

Jenn Erickson said...

Love them! I definitely need to head out to the raft store and pick up some of that Paper Glaze!

Jessica Jones said...

And maybe a kayak, too.

Mallie said...

DecoArt Triple Thick works the same as the paper glaze! I'm just saying, is all... :)

keri said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Vegan said...

OMG, I want to turn those in jewelry! Thanks for the great idea!

peony and thistle said...

Love it!

emmasfamily said...

good idea
I really like your blog
I talk about you on my blog

chelsea lee said...

these are brilliant! And luckily I think I have some chips I can use - woo hoo! Blogged your idea here - http://spicklebee.blogspot.com/2011/03/fancy-friday-3252011.html

DTM said...

Love these, and I have two out of date Pantone books :-)

Katie Lewis said...

Oooh, love these magnets.

brooke said...

Kristen from Apple Love- You said you have a book of chips and you would be willing to part with a few??? I would love to do this project and am hoping to track a few down. Would you mind emailing me brookeage(at)msn(dot)com.

Thanks so much! These are so, SO cute!

Peony and Thistle said...

Gorgeous! Thanks for a great idea!

Rachel Bowie said...

What an awesome idea! The finished magnet looks so great. I love the colors — what a great way to make use of old paint chips!

Thanks for sharing,

Rachel

Ashley @ Decorating Obsessed said...

This is awesome! I am definitely going to have to do this.

ride on lawn mowers said...

I like the idea. Look cools and cute too.

Lisa said...

Oh how cute! That paper glaze is so awesome!

Kathleen said...

I am so going to create these for my creative director friend, Tina. She is going to LOVE LOVE LOve therm. Thank you for the wonderful idea.

Things in life said...

Such a nice idea, pantone olours on the fridge!

Vicki @ The Sassy Pickle said...

This is the best idea I've ever seen!

None said...

What a great idea! I like it so much that I decided to make a blogpost about it (If you want to read it it's: http://a-silver-cloud.blogspot.com/2011/04/great-idea-diy-pantone-magnets.html)
And now I'll go and find my paint chips. Thank you!

ChunkyPineapple said...

So cute and cheerful!
How does one get their hands on Pantone paint chips? Do you have to purchase them? Thanks!

Jessica Jones said...

Yeah, the chip books are a couple hundred dollars, so unless someone is a design professional, they likely won't have one. You could check eBay, or else Pantone sells individual replacement pages, too.

Charlot Art said...

Wow never heard of this glue

micheroo said...

I have been obsessed with making these since I saw this post a few weeks ago! I couldn't find Aleene's Paper Glaze so I subbed with ArtDeco Triple Thick glaze. It was good; glossy like in the tutorial pics - but NOT GOOD for pinks and reds!! It washes them out to an orange colour! A great colour, of course, but what's the point in a Pantone magnet if it's not the right Pantone? lol I finally managed to track down the paper glaze and am excited to finish this project!

The Single Nester said...

These look really terrific! Perfect for an inspiration board.

Ashleigh said...

I'm in LOVE!! I have tons of these things from work and always wanted a creative way to use them. You're a genius!!

Debbie said...

I just made these - they are adorable. Mine took about 2 whole days to dry, but love the shiny look. I followed your instructions except used spray adhesive mount instead of double sided tape - but my corners are kind of coming up so the tape is probably better. I didn't have old chips but just designed some look-alikes using Pantones in Illustrator. Love the way they look in my office - thanks for the article!

::The Beetle Shack:: said...

ooohlala! these are wonderful!! I'm so glad i found your excellent blog! hours of fun here!

Kristi-Lee said...

I linked to this post on my blog (A Blank Page) here: DIY Shiny Magnets :) Thank you for the inspiration!

Unknown said...

How can you get pantone chips?! I would LOVE to make these! Thanks! taylor(dot)montgomery3(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks you all!!

Linda said...

@Kristin, does the offer for some Pantone chips still stand? I would love to make a few of these magnets! :o) @Jess, i know there are a lot of replacement pages you can get from Pantone- are there any that you recommend? Great project!! Thank you!

The Pottering Artist said...

Delicious, cute, enchanting and yes - I think I want to eat them! Bravo on a brilliant and professional demo and creations - Alison

Lydia Velarde said...

thanks for sharing this !
I never heard of this type of paper glaze and your projects are awesome!

Anonymous said...

These are amazing! My sister works at a paint shop and they have specials on certain colors from time to time but it was a pain to make window displays, they did this so now they have three magnets up at all times, on sale, soon to be on sale, and most popular.

Jennifer @ Delightfully Noted said...

Love this project! Featured it on my blog today http://delightfullynoted.blogspot.com/2011/08/8-creative-ways-to-reuse-paint-chips.html

Unknown said...

Absolutely adorable and what a great idea!! !

Debbie @ OtRD said...

What a fun idea for magnets!!

Anonymous said...

I love your cute magnets. I followed your steps and made some with photobooth pictures and cardboard instead: http://kcm702.wordpress.com/2011/08/23/photobooth_magnets/

Thanks for telling us how you did it!

Unknown said...

adorable! <3

Anu said...

Loved it. I tried them at home and they turned out so good. Thank you

Chris said...

Love this idea, always been a bit of a color nut as you can see, always wanted to have that job of naming colors for some major design company or something, this will have to do for now might add my own names though :-) Thanks x

Angie said...

I have my polaroid frame resized to 1" x .8" but it is HUGE. If I move them over to an 8.5" x 11" canvas I can only fit 2 on a row. What am I missing?

Help please, I need to make these for a gift for Monday (nothing like waiting until last minute - HA!).

Thanks

Jessica Jones said...

I'm sorry; are you referring to a different project? This project uses paper Pantone chips from Pantone books; nothing to do with Polaroids. I'm afraid I'm not following.

Anonymous said...

This is great. I wanted to make a scrapbook page with scrabble tiles, si I am going to make fake ones with this concept. Thanks a mill!!

JeneDawn said...

I really wish I would have found this sooner...I just got a new job at a design firm and this would have been a perfect gift to make for everybody...but I guess I know what I'm doing next year.

Jeni said...

Like JeneDawn, I wish I had discovered this sooner! I'm afraid I don't have any Pantone chips—is anyone (that's still subscribed to this comment feed) willing to send me a few of their leftover chips? Otherwise, maybe a trip to a paint store is in order for paint swatches =)

This is a fabulous idea, by the way!

Dianthusa said...

Lovely!!!

Unknown said...

so genius! I am sharing your link with my readers tonight as part of a housewarming party ideas!

hugs! Kim @ Party Frosting!

dragonflyalley said...

I love this product. I have also used it in jewelry making

Caity said...

oh i just love these -love the glossy finish!

Elaine said...

http://nightsinrosyriotfly.blogspot.com/2011/03/paint-chip-magnets.html

I believe that this person copied your entire post word for word and pasted it onto their blog???

Jessica Jones said...

Yup, thanks for letting me know. I've contacted them.

Nina said...

Thank you for this tutorial! These are very cool! Must try these when I get home from travelling :)
I also shared it my blog: http://whiterabbittreasures.blogspot.com/2012/07/etsy-treasury-magnetic-diy-magnets.html

Cheryl said...

These really are beautiful! I have a question, though. Why leave the label on at the bottom? Why not cut that off and just have the color? Is that bad? I think it would look better without it but I figured you probably have a reason for keeping it on there. Just curious. Great project!

Jessica Jones said...

Hi Cheryl,
Yep, these chips are iconic in the graphic design profession. We use them all the time and they're recognizable by the Pantone name and color number at the bottom. In fact, Pantone has licensed their images to tons of manufacturers, keeping the block of color at the top with the white area at the bottom. Some examples:
http://www.seletti.it/pantone/pantone_xmas_ball.htm
http://www.popdeluxe.net/pantone-mug-single.html

So it's fun (for me) to keep it on there since it's sort of a graphic design inside joke. But you certainly could cut it off if you like! Or use any other kind of paint swatch.

Unknown said...

Es espectacular, voy a probar a ver si lo consigo. Gracias por compartirlo

Unknown said...

Thank you very much for sharing this idea! It inspired me to create my own magnets. :)

Mini Magnets

Anonymous said...

Love these!

Anonymous said...

These are adorable!

Richard said...

All those years I tapes them to my wall after I took them out of the book. Great idea

Anonymous said...

Hi Love pantone and your magnets, I featured them today on my blog:
http://www.inspirationrealisation.com/2013/01/do-inspire-yourself-23.html#

Sarah Martin said...

LOVE these!

I don't have any Pantone chips, we just have the swatch books at work, so I was wondering if someone could tell me the dimensions (inc the white space) so I can recreate some in Illustrator - I know they won't be authentic, but hopefully they'll look almost as good! :-)

Jessica Jones said...

Hey Sarah,
The chips are 3/4" wide by 1 3/16" tall. The colored area is 3/4" square.

Jajn Rossi said...

Mine came out good at first. THEN, they curled up on the edges like they dried out. Had to ditch them...that was a ton of glue!!

they looked good for a day....

oh well

Anonymous said...

Wow didn't know about the glaze! It makes them look so legit. Will try!

http://itsjpei.wordpress.com/

Fileli Koltuk said...

I love the bright colors you used. Can you imagine actually having a wall painted in that bright of pink? ha, that would sure wake you up in the morning!

Sandra said...

amazing idea i will try it soon

Susan said...

Having been obsessed with these, I have a couple suggestions. I am making mine larger. I am printing the chips from screenshots of the actual chips on Pantone website (not sure how cool that is, but I am not selling these). 1) They make awesome office gifts for marketing people. 2) Someone here suggested Triple Thick gkaze. Costs a lot less and dries 3 times as fast. Looks the same. Magnet sheets I found that hold paper are 20 mil thick stick on. They do not separate. 3) To glue paper to board (I use old mat board) use extra strength glue stick. Super thin coating. Also, I would not suggest cutting anything thicker than a thick paper with an exacto knife. I have too many battle scars. Use a utility knife for the board. Change blades often!

Thanks so much Jess! The gift that keeps on giving….