Use IKEA Products To Make Your Own Viral Magnet Clock

If you've never been to IKEA, you need to make the trip. The store sells so many interesting and useful things. From sleek, modern couches to complete contemporary bedroom sets, you can find most anything for your home there.

Also popular are all the hacks, like the IKEA storage hack. If there's something you can't buy at IKEA, there's a good chance you can DIY it using items that IKEA does sell. Consider the viral magnetic clock, for example — the one with little charms instead of numbers. It's made with an item from IKEA's kitchen section, a few other items, and some crafty creativity.

More specifically, to make the viral magnetic clock, you'll need an IKEA VARDAGEN 13-inch pie plate, a clock kit, and some rare earth magnets. For the charms, you need polymer clay, acrylic paint, super glue, and polyurethane. The tools you need for this project include a drill with a ceramic drill bit and a sculpting knife. 

To start, you'll need to drill a hole in the middle of your VARDAGEN pie plate. Then, paint the plate your desired color or pattern. (You can skip this step if you are happy with the current plate color being the background color of your clock.) Next, it's time to make the charms and numbers (twelve, three, six, and nine). There's no specific way you need to do this. 

If you want the charms and numbers on your clock to be symmetrical, though, be sure to use an equal amount of clay for each charm and number. If you're crafty, you can hand-sculpt the charms and use a sculpting knife to cut clean lines. You could also use clay molds to form the charms. When you're done, bake the charms according to the thickness of the polymer clay. When they've had a chance to cool, paint them with a polyurethane finish.

Once the charms are dry, use a good brand of super glue to secure a magnet to the back of each one. For the clock numbers, glue them directly to the pie plate in the appropriate spot. (A paper clock cutout can be used as a guide.) Between each number, super glue magnets, taking care that the magnets on the plate are faced to attract the magnets on the charms, where the remaining clock numbers would be. (One, two, four, five, etc.) Lastly, install your clock kit and place the magnetic charms on the clock.

This is such a unique project, there really are endless customizations. From the color you paint the clock's base to the types of charms you make, you can take this idea in many directions. For example, you could paint the base a seafoam green color and make seashell charms for a fun, beachy housewarming gift. You could make bride, groom, and wedding cake charms for a special wedding theme. It could also be customized as a nursery decoration, with custom charms that are meaningful to the parents. There are just so many ways to use this idea.

If you want to make this project a little easier, you could purchase miniature figurines and numbers instead of making them yourself. You don't necessarily need the pie plate to come from IKEA, either. If you see a pretty ceramic pie plate while you're out shopping, it could very well be adapted for this project. Another way to make this project a little easier is to use a metal pie pan. You can hot glue jute rope around the front edge to soften its look, if you like. With a metal pan, you also wouldn't need to worry about gluing magnets to it.