Use Dollhouse Books and Accessories to Make Needleminders

Last week I bought some delightful magnetic needleminders from PinoyStitch. They are of book covers. It’s such a cool idea; but what if your favorite book isn’t available?

The books are 1:12 or dollhouse scale. That got me thinking about how easy this would be to do yourself.

Many vendors make books for dollhouses, or you can make them yourself (instructions below). When you are looking for a book it needs to be one that does not open. That’s because these books need to be relatively thick and closed flat; books with turning pages will need to be glued throughout.

The second thing you need to consider is how the book looks. These books will be seen from the cover, so you want ones with the cover, and possibly the spine, printed. There are books for sale that are meant to sit on shelves so only the spine is printed; these won’t work for magnets.

Finally the interior needs to be hard and not flexible. It should be made from matboard, balsa or other thin wood, or stiff plastic. Books with flexible interiors will not last.

To make your book magnet you will need:

• printed book cover on card stock or other very heavy paper
• mod podge
• white glue
• 1/16″ or thicker thick matboard, plastic or wood
• paint or permanent pens to color board edge (optional)
• craft knife and scissors
• ES6000 glue (available at craft stores
• rare earth magnet pair
• weight

Here’s how to make your book cover needleminder:

1. Cut out your interior board slightly smaller than the front of the book cover.
2. If desired color the edges of your board.
3. Cut out the book cover.
4. Fold the book cover around the board and make adjustments in size if needed. The book cover should be just a tiny bit bigger all around than the board.
5. Coat front and back of boards with a very thin layer of Tacky Glue.
6. Attach the cover to the board.
7. Weight down and let dry for a few hours or overnight.
8. Once dry, coat the book cover with Mod Pdge to protect it and let dry.
9. Take apart the two magnets and set one aside. These magnets are strong so put it far away from where you are working.
10. Put a drop of ES6000 on the magnet.
11. Press the book onto the magnet and let dry overnight.
12. Put back on the second magnet.
13. Your needleminder is ready to use!

Not only will dollhouse books work, but try anything relatively flat and unbreakable. You might try magazines, platters, trays, plates, or paintings. Just surfing around for possible items, I saw picture frames, mirrors, fruit bowls, and even tiny boxes of floss or silk!

Just imagine the adorable possibilities!