Magnet Packaging Question & Saying Hello As A New Guy...

[cats is hungreh]

Hey everyone. I visited the old Get Crafty board a couple times and I'm glad to be "back". Loves me them crafts and crafters!

I've been doing these magnets for a little while now and I'm starting to get really into them. I want to do some packaging for sets of 'em and I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out how to go about it. I thought maybe some of you might have some suggestions.

I'd like to do bagged sets that can be hung, like in a retail setting. I've found the bags and have pretty much figured the whole thing out, but I have somewhat of a problem. Because of the nature of magnets (their weight and the fact that they'll stick to one another), I can't exactly just stick them in the bag and expect the presentation to look good. Does that make sense? If I just stick them in there they'll turn into a big clumpy magnetic mess. I'd thought that if I could find some thin metal sheets to place inside the bags that I'd be able to stick them on there and they would pretty much stay put when hung. I'm totally rambling here, sorry.

Anyway, do any of you happen to know of some sort of "crafters sheet metal" or something similar? I've checked hardware stores and have found metal plates, but they're usually really thick and somewhat costly. Or perhaps you have a good suggestion for packaging small, circular magnets? Hmm.

I hope at least one of you put up with this riduclously long first post. gah!

[Craft Forums]

[Selah]

I don't know if this would be cost effective, but you could paint cardstock (cut up cereal boxes or someother recycled material) with magnetic paint. The stuff is fairly expensive but you would just need a little bit for each magnet set. Never tried it myself, just a thought! This isn't helpful for bags but I've seen magnets packaged inside of altoid tins and it always looks really cool. Oh, you could cut the bottom out of altoid tins and use that as an insert! Good luck and how can we see those magnets?

[Miss M]

what about thrifting old cookie sheets, adding a little spraypaint, cutting with tin snips and using those? not sure if they'll stick, but i've always thought that'd look nice. if you want to try something different, The Container Store sells these little round tins that can fit about 5-6 magnets and that is what i use when i gift them. they are less than $1.
good luck and post a pic with your final display!

[tosha]

Would your magnets stick to a magnetic sheet? I experimented with some of the magnets on my refrig; some stuck and some were too heavy and fell right off . . . alas! I like the idea because the magnetic sheets can be cut into interesting shapes, and you can print on the back (maybe your logo and website info). Added bonus? Your customer gets another cool magnet!

Check out: http://www.dickblick.com/zz614/13b/

[sarabell]

beercaps and other bottlecaps are magnetic as well. smoosh them and mount them on cardstock for a nifty effect or sandwich them between some cardstock, or do that with other scrounged metal like the altoids tins or cookie sheets - that way you can close it up in the cardstock and not have to spend all kinds of time smoothing out edges so that your customers don't cut themselves.

[Katrin]

You can buy little steel plates (shims) at a hardware store. They come in different sizes and aren't too expensive. I've used those to package magnets for gifts - I usually wrapped the shims in paper to make them look nicer and to dull any sharp edges.

[cats is hungreh]

Thank you so much for your ideas! I think going the way of the steel plate shims will be best for what I've been thinking about. Just a matter of finding the right type.

I'll be sure to post photos when I'm done! :)

[heathercashart]

Hey guys,



I know this post is from forever ago, but I actually found a really good solution for magnet packaging so I thought I'd share as it may be helpful for others!



I use a single really big, 2" round washer. It is strong enough to hold the 4 magnets in place, and they don't shift around AT ALL. Works perfect for me.


Here's a blog post I wrote detailing how I do it - Magnet Packaging



Hope it helps!
Heather