Geek Craft: Tetris Magnetz

Geek Craft: Tetris Magnetz 

Hello lovely Otherbeasts! There's nothing I love more than geeky grafts and I thought of one to do today (besides stripping my old cable box for the LEDS to do something with) that would capture the hearts of the 80's and 90's kids! Ready for some nostalgia?

You remember the shapes right? Oooh, the one that always got on my nerves was that stupid do-nothing square that always got in the way and gave me gaps! But my favorite one was the line (wasn't everyone's) and I always waited in vain to see that blessed line coming my way.
See, there it is.

Well, since I heart Tetris so much, I decided making refrigerator magnets would just be the perfect geeky craft, even if you're not crafty. It's super simple and cheaper than buying them. ThinkGeek used to offer a set of Tetris Magnets for around $10.00 but alas, no more.

So, for about $2.00 to $10.00, you can make your very own! (2.00 if you already have crafty things, 10.00 if you have to buy everything. Heck, at Hobby Lobby you can get already colored (red, purple, turquoise, orange, green, yellow) wooden 9/16" cubes - and 72 pieces in a package- for a cool $2.24 right now here: Click for Hobby Lobby.

Now, the craft store Michael's sells wooden cubes for roughly 2.99 for a pack of 42, 1/2" by 1/2". Isn't 42 the universal answer? Thought so. Have your towel ready?

So, if you want to snazz it up a bit, you can always find some plastic cubes for roughly the same price. You also need a sheet of magnet backing. You can find this at both Michael's and Hobby Lobby, for about $1.50, and it looks like this:

So here's what you'll need:
Supplies:
- wooden cubes (or plastic ones) (or already colored wood ones)
- a magnet sheet
- a ruler or straightedge
- glue (choose wisely) or adhesive magnet strips
-scissors
- acrylic paint (you remember the colors right?)
(I'm kidding, choose your own colors!)
(Or screw the colors for an organic look.)
(Or use the colored wood - I would, I'm lazy.)

Step one: Take your wooden or plastic cubes and start laying out the basic shapes of the Tetris blocks. You remember the shapes right?

Okay good.

Step Two: Get out your glue, or use your magnetic adhesive, and start lining up your blocks using your ruler or straight edge.

Note: If gluing the blocks together and then painting, go ahead and glue them and let them dry before painting. If you're using the magnetic strips with the adhesive already on, you are all set. Obviously when doing any craft except oil painting, you want to let your glue and your paint dry before doing anything else. Herp derp.

Step Three: Paint if you're gonna! As Bob Ross says, "Anything your heart desires, this is your world, you have the freedom and the power here."

So, paint. Let dry. (For super geeks it's okay to paint black lines along the separations are to create that nice 8 bit look.)

(Don't tell me you don't remember doing this after screwing up a few times, giving up, becoming frustrated, and resorting to hitting A and B furiously while hitting the directional pad wildly and screaming, "Fine! Fine! Then just do it like THIS! How's that!? Stupid game, stupid Tetris! Argh!")

((You 'member.))

Step Four: Use scissors to cut away excess magnet sheet and make it the same shape as your blocks. Then glue on. Then let glue dry. Wax on, wax off.

Step 5: Stick on your refrigerator, step back, and admire your geeky craftiness! Next: The World! Mwa ha ha ha ha ha, MWA HA HA HA HA, mwa ha ha.

I hope you have fun doing this! Heart <3 Tetris.

Have fun my crafty Otherbeasts!
______

Until Next Time,
<3 Shade