I am not exaggerating when I say this was the biggest hit Mother’s Day gift I have given in years.
I took photos of my kids, nieces, and nephews, cartoonified them in Canva, printed them straight onto magnetic sheets from Amazon, cut them out, and handed them over as gifts to my mom and mother-in-law.
That was it. No special equipment. No experience required. Just a phone, Canva, a printer, and a pack of magnet sheets.
Both grandmas were absolutely delighted. The magnets went straight onto the fridge and they have stayed there.
What You Will Need
- Photos of your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews (one per person — forward-facing, clear shot, nothing blocking the face)
- A free Canva account
- A home printer (I used my Epson)
- Printable magnetic sheets (here are the ones I used!)
- Scissors or a cutting machine (I cut mine by hand and it looked great)
That is genuinely the full list.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
1. Take or collect your photos.
This is the most important step. The cartoonification works best with:
- A clear, forward-facing photo
- Good lighting (natural light is ideal)
- Nothing in the way — no hands, no other people overlapping, nothing blocking the face
- A simple or plain background helps, but you can crop around it
Crop the photo down to just the head and shoulders, and hair, before you bring it into Canva. The closer in you are, the better the result I removed everything but their face and the outline of their hair to give them a fun cartoon feel.
2. Open Canva and use the Cartoonifier.
In Canva, upload your cropped photo. Then use the photo effects or AI tools to apply the cartoon style. The result is a stylised, illustrated version of your child’s face — it keeps the likeness but gives it that animated, character-art quality that makes people stop and smile.
Tip: The forward-facing, clear-shot rule is everything here. Angled or partially obscured faces do not cartoonify as cleanly. If a photo is not working, swap it for a better one rather than trying to fix it.
3. Arrange your magnets on a Canva canvas.
Once you have all your cartoonified faces, arrange them together on a canvas sized to match your magnet sheet dimensions. I fit multiple faces on one sheet to get the most out of each print.
Leave a little space around each face so you have room to cut without losing any detail at the edges.
4. Print directly onto your magnetic sheets.
Load your magnetic sheets into your home printer exactly as you would regular paper, following the instructions on the packet. Print your Canva design.
Tip: Do a regular paper test print first to check sizing and colour before committing to a magnet sheet.
5. Cut out your magnets.
Once printed, cut around each face with scissors. I cut with a simple rounded border, not trying to follow every curl of hair exactly. It looks clean and intentional that way.
If you have a cutting machine you can set it to cut them out precisely, but hand-cutting works beautifully.
6. Gift them.
I put them in a personal card and mailed them off. Both grandmas had them on the fridge the day they opened it!
Tips for Getting the Best Results
- The photo quality going in determines the quality coming out. Take five minutes to get a great forward-facing shot in good light rather than trying to make a blurry or awkward photo work.
- You can mix ages and styles — some of mine were toddlers, some older kids, and they all looked wonderful together as a set.
- Print a slightly larger size than you think you need. You can always trim down, and going a little bigger makes the faces more impactful on the fridge.
- These also work beautifully printed on sticker paper if you want to use them as stickers instead of magnets. Same exact process, different material.
- Make a set for every grandparent in the family. Seriously. These cost almost nothing to make and the reaction is priceless.
What I Would Do Differently
Nothing about the process, but I would make more of them. I made one set each for my mom and mother-in-law and I immediately wished I had made extras for us. They are so quick that there is really no reason not to make a few spare sets.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes the best gifts are the ones that took thought, not the ones that cost money. These magnets took me a couple of hours from start to finish, cost next to nothing, and went straight onto two grandmothers’ fridges where they will be seen every single day.
That is my kind of craft.
If you make these, please share them with me. Tag @simplyhappybrittany on Instagram or leave a comment below. And pin this to your Mother’s Day ideas board so you have it ready for next year.
