20 April 2011

NEO: Personalized Pins Tutorial


I thought it would be fun [even if a bit obsessive] to have all orange pins to go with my new "never enough orange" sewing studio, but as I went to the fabric stores and looked online, would you believe they're hard to come by?  I know!  So I thought I'd make my own, uncertain if it would actually work out or not.  First I tried spray painting the tips of some I already had with a ball top [actually, Divine took over this project].  That kind of worked, but it was hard to paint that tiny tip entirely without dripping, and then the tape protecting the rest of the pin left a sticky residue that drove me mad to try to remove.  Maybe I'll try it again, using nail polish.  You know how I love to paint things with nail polish.
It's ridiculously easy, but satisfying to see all those orange [or another color, if you're so compelled] all snuggled there together in the base of my magnetic pin holder, like a big happy family. Your supplies:

  • Strong glue.  I used this E-6000, but if you've found a glue that you like, go ahead and use what you have.  Super glue is too thin, but I did add a drop of super glue after I was finished, you know, just for added strength.
  • Small beads.  You don't want too much of your pin covered up. Make sure they're glass or ceramic, not plastic.  I don't ever iron over my pins when sewing, but if you happen to leave one in, you wouldn't want it melting all over your fabric.  Also, if you find the whole of your bead is too large and the pin pulls right through, simply add a little glass seed bead first.
  • Extra long satin pins.  These were the longest I could find at the fabric store, and I worried they wouldn't be long enough, but turns out they are just right, even with the addition of the beads.
  • Cardboard.  You will use this to poke the pins into and allow the glue to dry.  Fold it into a square or triangular tube, fasten with tape.

I left the tube of glue hanging over scratch paper and the glue can't resist being topless, so it comes out.  I rolled the end of the pin in the glue as it dripped out and added the bead, twisting it to get the most amount of glue inside the bead hole.  Wipe off excess glue.
Place finished pins in your cardboard tube, pressing all the way in to keep the bead touching the top.  And, like I said, I added a drop of super glue to the top for added strength.  Allow them to dry for a day or two before using in your projects.
So yummy to look at, no?!  I hope I don't eat them by mistake.
And guess what, they work!  

ps if you try this project for yourself, add your photos to the flickr group for me to see!

34 comments:

  1. Oh, Katy. Those worked out great!

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  2. How cute! I never thought about personalizing my straight pins. Might have to try this :)

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  3. Goodness! I LOVE these! Too bad you're the only person I know who sews.

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  4. Very pretty! You've already got your solution for the spray-painted heads of the pins. stick a whole bunch through a cardboard box so that only the heads are still showing and spray paint away. Then wait 'til all the paint's dry before taking them back out. Voila! Carrot-top pins with no sticky mess!

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  5. that is SO pretty. I'm going to have to do it myself one of these days. LOVE

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  6. These are so pretty! What a great way to feel pampered and girly while sewing.

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  7. So pretty, Katy! What a fun touch for your sewing supplies!

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  8. I love that you did that (and I ADORE orange) ... that would be a fun gift for a sewing friend of mine.

    I have to tell you: my older kids were looking over my shoulder at your blog the other day so I showed them a pile of your sewing creations. They were amazed and couldn't believe how creative you are ... and they thought your kids were pretty stinkin' cute too!

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  9. Gasp! Those are fantastic! Super creative! And I love IowaHoodlum's suggestion for the spray painting.
    Way cool, Katy! They do indeed look yummy!

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  10. Wow! I need to make some of these for myself! Thanks for the continual stream of fabulous inspiration! I don't know how you do it!

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  11. No scurvy here!
    I love 'em!

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  12. absolutely fantastic idea! they look great!

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  13. These are darling! you have a lot of patience!!! :)

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  14. I love it! And they'll be so much easier to spot when they get dropped on the floor, too :-)

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  15. oh its okay to be obsessive! my last post was about my obsessive tendencies too. lets just call it "a healthy love affair".

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  16. Great idea! I'm going to have to try that.

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  17. My thought for spraying or painting with nail polish would be to stick them into styrofoam? I dont know if it would melt or not. These are adorable...... if I had the time I think I would need blue ones....

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  18. So creative and detailed...love it!

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  19. Those are wonderful, what a great idea.

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  20. awe.some. I need new pins, have been wanting cute ones, but they are so pricey for so few. I love this idea! I think I may make some for myself for Mother's Day. Thanks!

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  21. Beautiful! How do you come up with such amazing ideas?

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  22. These are perfect timing for me. I am getting materials together to make a jewelry organizer out of a big ornate frame and some cork, the one thing I can't find are cute pins to hang my jewelry on. I was going to glue buttons on the end of tacks, but I like this much better. Thanks!

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  23. Brilliant! Love this idea. I've also had the thought to make designs on shrinky dink material and put it on the pin before baking.

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  24. I am completely in love with these pins. I just bought some right out of the store and they are so boring and I why not have some excitment to something you use everytime you sew! I'm going to make some and link this post to my blog. Thanks!

    http://mommacdesigns.blogspot.com/

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  25. gah! what a FANTASTIC idea! going and doing!

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  26. I made some! :)
    http://froginstitches.blogspot.com/2011/05/never-enough-green-pins.html

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  27. What a wonderful idea. Thanks for the tutorial!

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  28. Cute! Cute! Cute! I love this idea! Thanks so much for the tutorial. :-)

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  29. Way cute - I love it! Thank you for the tutorial!

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  30. I made some; they're so pretty!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  31. I made a few pins with your post since I had the supplies on hand (I went more the Sweet Verbena route and used some dark gray pearls). But I had really been searching for a way to paint some. I have over 400 YELLOW ball head pins that were given to me by my grandmother after we made a quilt. They aren't anything special just the Dritz plain yellow pins. I had been considering painting them with nail polish and reading this post solidified that plan. I tested it out with two pins and two colors, and fell in love. I couldn't pick just one color so I picked four. three blues (one sparkly) and a bright coral orange. :) I'm going to post it on pintrest once I can get some photos. I'll give you the link if you want to see how it went. Thanks for the great idea!

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