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    Home » Blog » thrifting

    Magnetic Pin Dish Tutorial

    July 14, 2010 by Amy 64 Comments

    I recently found this little tomato bowl that called my name. (Maybe because I love fresh summer tomatoes with a passion.  The store-bought kind you get in the winter, make me gag. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but I know I’m not.)

     I thought this would make a really sweet little pin-dish. I found this bowl at a Pearl River Mart – a chinese supply shop that carried lots of cute rice bowls this size.

    To keep those pins from sliding around and dumping out easily, I decided to magnetize the bowl.  I found these neodymium magnetic buttons in the craft aisle at Walmart.  They’re extra strong so that they’ll attract through the porcelain.  They’re also really thin so that they’ll lie comfortably under the dish. (Do you like this really professional, Martha-looking picture?? 🙂 I was too excited to try my project before I stopped to take fancy photos.)

    I attached the magnets with more E6000. Because they were small, I used two magnets to strengthen the magnetic pull.  I know these neodymium magnets come in bigger sizes, I was just too excited to try my idea so I grabbed the ones available at Walmart.

    And voila – my happy little magnetic pin dish – so much more aesthetically pleasing than the royal blue plastic one I was using. This would be equally adorable with a great piece of thrift-store china. Let me know if you try it at home!

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    Related

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    Filed Under: thrifting, tutorial

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sherri

      July 14, 2010 at 10:44 pm

      What a great idea Amy!

      Reply
    2. SewSara

      July 14, 2010 at 10:47 pm

      that's brillianT~ i love it! thanks for sharing 🙂

      Reply
    3. madebymum

      July 15, 2010 at 1:38 am

      what a good idea my pin dish is always spilling.

      Reply
    4. Suzan

      July 15, 2010 at 3:30 am

      Great idea! I can't wait to go find some of those magnets!!

      Reply
    5. Jackie

      July 15, 2010 at 4:45 am

      Fabulous idea and pretty too!

      Reply
    6. Leslie

      July 15, 2010 at 9:49 am

      this is an awesome idea…i would never have known that you could use the magnet through the porcelain

      Reply
    7. Jennifer

      July 15, 2010 at 11:12 am

      This is so smart! Thanks for sharing!<br /><br />Jennifer 🙂

      Reply
    8. Christine

      July 15, 2010 at 11:16 am

      Such a great idea, thanks!

      Reply
    9. pinksuedeshoe

      July 15, 2010 at 3:51 pm

      Love that little dish, so so cute! Have you tried the little tomato&#39;s at Costco? They are like 2 inches across and come in a package of (a lot) like 20? They are surprisingly ripe and delicious. Like amazingly so. Even in February. This is going on my project list. I&#39;m off to find the perfect dish!

      Reply
    10. Kara

      July 15, 2010 at 5:26 pm

      I am stunned at the brilliance of this idea. Why the heck didn&#39;t I think of that. Love it!

      Reply
    11. Shelley

      July 15, 2010 at 7:57 pm

      Very &quot;smart&quot; tip Ms. Smart! 🙂

      Reply
    12. Vicki @ DottyJane

      July 16, 2010 at 6:36 am

      I&#39;m making one of these! Great idea:)

      Reply
    13. Tammy Vasser

      July 16, 2010 at 9:06 am

      Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing. I&#39;m going to try it!

      Reply
    14. Nanette Merrill and daughters

      July 23, 2010 at 12:32 pm

      oh my gosh, that is so cute!

      Reply
    15. Anonymous

      July 26, 2010 at 6:21 am

      What a wonderful idea. I&#39;ve been using thrift store finds for years but for the regular kind of pincushion made with a needlepunched ball of wool. You idea allows all the wonderful colors and shapes in the china to shine through. Thanks for sharing. I think my next trip to the store will include magnet shopping.

      Reply
    16. Florence

      July 26, 2010 at 1:30 pm

      What a wonderful idea. My magnetic pincushion is so useful that I&#39;ve put up with the fact that it&#39;s an uglybug until now…it&#39;s days are numbered though…I am now on the trail of some strong magnets. <br /><br />Thank you for the fantastic and incredibly Marthaish tutorial, <br /><br />Florence x

      Reply
    17. Florence

      July 26, 2010 at 1:32 pm

      It&#39;s, its….arg, sorry too awful not to correct it…or at least recomment on! x

      Reply
    18. Kathy Wilcox

      July 26, 2010 at 2:23 pm

      Love this idea…Thank you so much for sharing!!<br />Love your &quot;tomaot&quot; dish…I am going to my thrift store tomorrow to see what I can find 🙂

      Reply
    19. Jaci

      July 26, 2010 at 3:14 pm

      I see an attractive replacement for my paper clip holder on my classroom desk! Thanks for the idea.

      Reply
    20. ktquilts

      July 27, 2010 at 5:54 pm

      Nothing like seeing this link on tip nut and clicking on it only to come to a blog THAT I ALREADY FOLLOW!!!!!! How did I miss this the first time? Great pin dish!!<br /><br />Ditto the summer tomatoes!<br /><br />Blessings,<br /><br />KT

      Reply
    21. PennyPie

      July 29, 2010 at 3:16 pm

      Great IDEA!!! Thrift store shopping for me!!!

      Reply
    22. casserole

      July 29, 2010 at 4:35 pm

      Genius!! I love my magnetic &quot;wand&quot; for my pins, but it&#39;s less than attractive. I think I&#39;ll be on the lookout for a cute little dish now.<br /><br />I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:<br />http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-magnetic-dish-pin-holder/2010/07/29/<br /><br />–Anne

      Reply
    23. Erika

      July 30, 2010 at 11:36 am

      Thanks for the great idea, it&#39;s beautiful!

      Reply
    24. Sarah @ Mum In Bloom

      August 11, 2010 at 6:50 am

      Visiting from Nettacow. That dish is so gorgeous I could scream! What a neat idea you came up with 🙂

      Reply
    25. Lenetta @ Nettacow

      August 11, 2010 at 9:36 am

      Love this, and I think I&#39;ll put it on my handmade Christmas gift list to give to my MIL who is a quilter! I linked to this on my <a href="http://nettacow.blogspot.com/2010/08/link-roundup-pandoras-box-edition.html&quot; rel="nofollow">weekly roundup</a> – thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    26. Carolyn

      September 19, 2010 at 2:16 pm

      Love your ideas! this pin dish is perfect! You can even glue a piece of felt fabric to the back. It would make the perfect gift.

      Reply
    27. Lynette @ My Craft Discovery

      November 28, 2010 at 7:17 pm

      love the idea.

      Reply
    28. Carol in E TN

      December 03, 2010 at 10:05 pm

      Actually, I made one of these for a quilt friend who came for a visit. She was so happy with it since it was a pretty dish from Romania!

      Reply
    29. Flannery Buchanan

      December 20, 2010 at 8:10 pm

      I love this idea! I can&#39;t wait to try it. My husband is always getting on me to pick up all of my pins that seem to float around the house:)!<br /><br />Flannery @ threesisterz.blogspot.com

      Reply
    30. V and Co.

      December 21, 2010 at 10:17 pm

      oh my freak! so going to do these!!!!!!!!!

      Reply
    31. Kristen

      December 29, 2010 at 4:52 pm

      What a great idea! I&#39;m definitely going to make one. Thanks.<br />Kristen

      Reply
    32. Danielle Bartran

      January 07, 2011 at 2:21 pm

      I love this! How simple too! I can&#39;t wait to make one for myself and maybe my mother in law too!

      Reply
    33. Diana's Doings

      March 02, 2011 at 10:56 pm

      Hi, <br />That is a great idea!! I will have to find the perfect bowl and try it, Thanks<br />Diana

      Reply
    34. joelle=le ptit colibri

      June 05, 2011 at 3:03 am

      great idea !!<br />I&#39;ll try it as soon I&#39;ll find magnets<br />thanks for sharing !

      Reply
    35. Melissa_Loves_Broccoli

      June 24, 2011 at 12:39 pm

      clever! I like this because I seem to never stick them in the cushions as I sew and end up with a pile next to my machine!

      Reply
    36. Gidget

      September 27, 2011 at 3:37 pm

      This is just a great idea!<br />Gonna make one for myself…

      Reply
    37. Amy

      October 11, 2011 at 7:11 pm

      Thanks! Helped the children make these and they turned out great! I just posted pictures on the blog.

      Reply
    38. fritter

      March 31, 2012 at 3:41 pm

      Thank you! What a great idea for my guild buddies Christmas gift!

      Reply
    39. Susie Quilter

      June 23, 2012 at 9:37 am

      Duh, why didn&#39;t I think of that? <br />But, I have a metal bowl that I got at an auto supply store instead. I&#39;m thinking that it is really ugly but very functional so… after looking at your picture I was thinking I could use some fabric and some starch or &quot;Stiffy Stuff&quot; and &quot;Line&quot; the metal bowl with the still wet fabric and it would still work but look nicer. Off to

      Reply
    40. Jackie

      December 05, 2012 at 1:30 pm

      That is an awesome idea, thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    41. 91f2c6fe-580b-11e2-a2f9-000bcdcb471e

      January 06, 2013 at 8:16 am

      Thank you so much for sharing this. I live in Alabama and a dear friend in West Virginia sent this to me!

      Reply
    42. WLWK4FD aka The Faux Fae

      January 08, 2013 at 3:34 pm

      Thank you so much for this idea! I made a couple and blogged about them and directed people to this post on your blog. I would love to know what you think!

      Reply
    43. faye conley

      January 27, 2013 at 8:53 pm

      <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I already have the perfect dish. I had this same idea a while back when I found this dish. But my magnets did not work, so I will tey again using your kind. Thanks for the help!

      Reply
    44. La Pecora Nera

      January 28, 2013 at 6:03 am

      Great idea! Thank you from Italy, Emanuela

      Reply
    45. Maggie

      January 29, 2013 at 2:03 pm

      That is an adorable dish! I will have to keep my eye out for something cute that will work. Thanks for the tip!

      Reply
    46. Foxflower

      February 09, 2013 at 4:22 pm

      I&#39;ve done this but using only one magnet, which didn&#39;t work well. I used the self adhesive extra strong magnets. I guess I&#39;ll get some more magnets and add them where I can.

      Reply
    47. Virginia Severson

      February 21, 2013 at 1:40 pm

      Love it!

      Reply
    48. kay

      February 21, 2013 at 1:41 pm

      I have long been using a small dish hand-painted by my great-great-grandmother. But adding magnets to the bottom is brilliant!

      Reply
    49. Nita

      March 08, 2013 at 11:52 am

      OMG, I have two dishes that would suit this idea perfectly! An antique blue glass dish and an antique painted china dish. I&#39;ve been hanging on to them because they are so pretty, but otherwise I don&#39;t have a use for them. Now I do! Thanks!

      Reply
    50. Sharon

      May 25, 2013 at 8:55 am

      I am going to try this and i do have a little dish already just need the magnets…thanks for sharing…

      Reply
    51. gaylynn

      December 15, 2013 at 12:37 am

      Love, love, love it! I&#39;ll have to look for a special little dish. Thanks so much for the idea.

      Reply
    52. Libelula Manualidades

      January 23, 2014 at 10:54 pm

      Wow i re like it. Beautiful !!! i go now to buy some magnetics

      Reply
    53. Karen K from Buffalo

      March 20, 2015 at 9:37 am

      Love this & so much prettier & easier to just toss the pins into the dish. Great idea!

      Reply
    54. Pauline

      November 11, 2015 at 11:34 am

      I love this idea – thanks for sharing – and your photos are fab.
      Pauline

      Reply
    55. Susan

      November 22, 2015 at 6:52 am

      Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea. I have also used duct tape to attach my magnets so I can re use the little dish or switch it out when I find a new one at a thrift shop . I have also used glass spray paint to paint a cute dish a fun color from a thrift I store really enjoy your posts. Keep them coming

      Reply
    56. Thelma Cooper aka Tedda

      September 28, 2017 at 10:36 am

      I’m thinking a glass or plastic dish you can see through ($ store) and some MOD PODGE either on a pretty single sheet of a paper napkin or even cloth backing to make an original. Then the magnets! I have done the dishes before, but did not think of magnets for pin dishes!

      Reply
      • Amy

        September 28, 2017 at 7:11 pm

        That’s a great idea!

        Reply
    57. Linda

      November 17, 2018 at 5:49 am

      I love that magnetic bowl, sure looks better than the plastic ones or the stainless steel ones from Harbor Freight

      Reply
      • Amy

        November 17, 2018 at 8:28 pm

        Thanks! I think so too!

        Reply
    58. JEAN

      March 26, 2019 at 1:43 pm

      How cute! I was looking for an fmq tut of yours with wavy lines and I got distracted by this sweet bowl. I have to make one! Thank you!
      -Jean ❤

      Reply
    59. Twyla

      May 05, 2019 at 12:21 pm

      Love your cute ideas. When you purchase tomatoes leave them out on the counter for about 5-7 days and they will taste much better.

      Reply
    60. Julie Vogel

      February 19, 2020 at 10:19 am

      It has been a while since you created this cute idea, but I saw it on your pinterest page. Love it!

      Reply
    61. Susie Busch

      March 27, 2022 at 5:46 am

      I love this pin idea and I am going to try it. I love your website and hope u don’t change it too much!! So many wonderful ideas!! Loved the scrap storage ideas. I have mine in large glass jars, and I really need to sort them out!!! Anyway your newsletter is my favorite. Thank you!!!

      Reply
      • Amy

        March 27, 2022 at 1:20 pm

        Aww, thank you so much!

        Reply

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