Sorry We Can't Play Magnet


Since moving to our new house, we have little guest showing up through out the day.  There are times when my littles aren't available to play.  Of course when the guests show up mine will beg to play: mean mom me has to say no over and over. I put this file together out of desperation, constant doorbell ringing and "we can't play right now" was getting a little much.

To put this together I used all things I had stashed in my craft closet since there was that desperation factor.  I'm a total sucker for clearance aisles at the local craft stores so the there are always good treasures to be found in "THE CLOSET" as my husband calls it.  I couldn't find the little earth magnets I used to show you all.  I use these strong little magnets for my spice tins on my fridge (another post for another day) and thought they would be perfect since our door faces north and we all know how the Nebraska wind can be.

I created this file with Photoshop and Inkscape.  These are my go to programs when I'm feeling creative.  Once it was completed I uploaded it to my Cricut software.  I have to admit I'm not a fan of their software.  You have to have an internet connection to be able to cut.  If you have a less than stellar internet service provider like me or it is a busy Cricut creativity time, it is nearly impossible to get it to work without it crashing and losing all your work.  This is why I tend to create everything elsewhere and upload it all together as a .SVG file.  I do like the machine its self and the option to cut from my smartphone or iPad, though I've just never actually done it.

I painted the little wooden plaque and waxed it since it will be out in the Nebraska elements.  If I had fun spray paint colors on hand I probably would have used that.  Like I said I used what I had on hand.

While it was drying I got to work cutting the vinyl.  I used outdoor (shiny) vinyl.  This is my favorite kind to work with and always have scraps on hand.  I used a random fun and FREE shape from the Cricut library for the turquoise background.  I don't have a subscription to their paid library since I have a bit of a font addiction and can easily make most anything I need.

Once the paint was dry I just placed the turquoise vinyl by hand, eyeballing it.  For the white lettering I used transfer paper....well....clear contact paper.  This is my go to because it's cheap and I can pick it up at the local big box store or grocery store.  No special trip to the craft store or waiting for an online delivery.  I do recommend the actual Contact brand, I have bought other brands before and they just don't seem to work as well.  Do keep in mind, it's not as sticky as transfer paper so you have to work a bit more to get the vinyl to adhere but to me it's much easier to work with.  Lastly I glued a magnet or 2 to the back with a little Gorilla glue, the gel kind, but any super glue would work.



Since posting pictures of our little sign on Facebook, I've had several requests from friends for their own "We Can't Play" magnets.  You can make your own with my free .SVG file by joining my Facebook group.  I have several free .SVG patterns available for personal use and add more all the time.