Son of a Draft Dodger and Charlie the Tuna

How to attach a magnetic draft dodger to a wood door:

The more it snows (Tiddely pom), The more it goes (Tiddely pom), The more it goes (Tiddely pom), On snowing. And nobody knows (Tiddely pom), How cold my toes (Tiddely pom), How cold my toes (Tiddely pom), Are growing. -Winnie The Pooh, as reported to A. A. Milne

The draft dodger I made on Monday was so helpful, I've been making them for the other drafty doors in our house.

Magnets inside the draft dodger tube keep it attached as the door swings open and closed. In our mudroom, the magnets were aligned with the nails that held the door flashing.

Most of the doors in our house are wooden and without flashing. In order to use this design on non-metal doors, I could have stuck a few tacks or nails along the bottom. However, I didn't want to do anything permanent to the doors; I didn't want to mar their surface with nails, or risk misaligning the hinges by banging on them with a hammer.

Enter Charlie, stage right. Last week, he solved my vitamin-pill woes. This week, I called upon him to protect my chilly toes.

I used the same method as before, attaching (clean!) tuna can lids with leftover 3M command strips. These allow for a secure attachment, but a complete removal if necessary.

To improve the aesthetics, I cut them into butterflies and painted them. (What? You were expecting me to panel the house in tuna lids? )

The tuna lids cut easily, but have sharp edges. I'd recommend NOT using your best scissors for this activity.

I used Jacquard "lumiere" metallic and opalescent paints for this. I love these paints; they are a joy to use. I started with one of their "exciter" sample kits a few years ago, and fell in love with its rich, generous, high-quality pigment concentration and beautiful colors.

It is expensive paint, but I think it worth the price. Now I buy them in bulk either on-line from dickblick or dharma, or from the local craft store (when I have a coupon.)

Note the ever present bottle-cap paint pallets.

A commenter suggested it would be better if were waterproof. I'm not sure it's necessary, yet it can't hurt. So I've been lining them with duct tape and giving them a quick spray of Scotchguard.

Off topic tip: I've also used these strips to attach strong magnets to the inside of my baking cabinet, to hold a few dedicated measuring cups and measuring spoons.


The adhesive strips were placed on the diagonal, to hide them from view.

Here is the front of a tuna-can butterfly, with the adhesive strip attached to its back. I placed them so the wings would cover the strip-removal-tags. The metal is thin enough to bend forward if I need to get to the tabs and remove the butterflies.


Wiping the wall with rubbing alcohol prepares the surface for the command strip adhesive. (per package instructions.)

Here you can see our Butterfly Verification Assistant, carefully executing the Critical Butterfly Count (CBC) . The CBC is a vital step in Butterfly Placement Assessment. We passed.

Be sure to test the door movement before attaching the fabric cover.

Here is the completed project, in use: