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Pins and Brooches
Pin findings are pretty cool and versatile. Here are some of the ones I use.
Small lapel pins
These are similar to flat bed stud findings where you can glue charms onto the flat bed of the pin. You can then poke them through the lapel of a tired jacket to sharpen it up!
Pin Findings
Like the lapel pins you can glue these onto different charms. They are a little larger than lapel pins so you can attach larger charms to them.
Here is a pin finding tutorial
Charm loop scarf pins
These pins include charm loops that you can attach beads and charms to. Perfect for closing chunky scarves and sweaters.
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Stuck for Mother’s Day gift ideas? Here’s our DIY jewelry gift guide!
If you need some ideas for Mother’s Day, here are some tutorials that might inspire you to make the mother figure in your life something special and sentimental.
Gift idea one: A necklace made out of an upcycled brooch.
Find all the steps to make a brooch necklace here.
Gift idea two: A lock and key jewelry set.
This is such a cute idea, turn your childhood diary lock and key into a sweet jewellery set! Find the steps here.
Gift idea three: Some delicate wire threader earrings.
These are for the Mother who loves the simple things. The full threader earring tutorial can be found right here.
Gift idea four: An elegant floating pearl necklace.
This necklace is so cool! Find the tutorial here.
Gift idea five: A custom made charm.
Use a special bead or a handmade one and transform it into a one of a kind charm. All the steps to create this special charm are right here.
Gift idea six: A beachy pendant.
Fill this pendant with reminders of the beach or the bush. All the steps to make this sentimental pendant right here.
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Here’s How to Make a Funky Rhinestone Brooch For Shining up Your Fave Old Outfit!
Do you need a little brooch to brighten up your favorite outfit or trusty winter scarf? This piece is super easy to make and looks great.
You will need the following tools and materials to make this brooch:
1: A glue-on brooch pin.
2: Araldite 2-part glue.
3: A skewer.
4: A scrap piece of paper.
5: A flat piece of plastic to make the base of your brooch. I used this green piece of laser-cut acrylic.
6: Some assorted rhinestones with flat-back settings. I also used a small round mirror to decorate my brooch.
Follow these steps to make your brooch:
1: Mix up the glue on some scrap paper. To do this you will need to squeeze out equal parts from the tube and mix them well using the skewer.
2: Add glue to the backs of the rhinestones and apply them to the piece of acrylic in any pattern you choose. I made the mirror the center of my brooch and added an extra rhinestone on top.
3: Wait for the glue on the rhinestones to dry. You might need to mix some extra glue to use to attach the brooch pin.
4: Add the glue to the brooch pin and place it carefully on the back side of your plastic base. If your base is translucent like mine you might want to ‘hide’ your pin behind the decorations on the front.
Once the glue on the pin is dry your brooch is finished and ready to wear! How easy was that?
Here are some other brooch DIY’s that you can try:
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Want to Add Something Extra to Your Drab Winter Scarves? Make a Sweet Scarf Pin!
Here’s how to make a super sweet little scarf pin to add some extra cool to your winter scarves. This is especially great for securing shorter scarves.
You will need the following tools and materials to make your scarf pin:
1: Pliers. You will need your flat nose pliers and round nose pliers to make this pin.
2: A scarf pin with charm loops.
3: Two short pieces of chain.
4: A charm connector. I used this bow shaped charm connector.
5: A bead or charm of your choice. I used this green glass bead.
6: A head pin.
7: Three jump rings.
Follow these steps to make your scarf pin:
1: Add the bead to the head pin.
2: Loop the end of the pin using the round nose pliers, securing the bead in place.
3: Add a jump ring to the charm loop and attach it to the middle loop on the pin.
4: Use the other two jump rings to attach the chains to the outer loops on the pin.
5: Open the end links of each chain and attach them to both sides of the connector charm.
Once the connector charm is secured to the chains your pin is finished and ready to be attached to your favorite winter scarf!
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Got Some Old Brooches Hanging Around? Here’s How to Turn them into a necklace Pendant!
I recently acquired some of my grandmother’s old costume jewelry, and among all the beads and clip on earrings I found some wonderful brooches. I am not really a brooch wearer myself so I decided to turn them into something that I would wear, a necklace. Attaching the tiger tail wire to the necklace wire can be a bit tricky, but once you have it in place the rest is smooth sailing. This tutorial is a really fun way to re-purpose and recycle old pieces that you have stashed away in your jewelry box!
You will need the following tools and materials to make a brooch pendant necklace:
1:Pliers. To make this necklace I used the round nose pliers, flat nose pliers and cutting pliers.
2: A brooch. I used this gold colored amethyst broach that was handed down from my grandmother.
3: Tiger tail wire. I used this bronze colored tiger tail wire.
4: Eight crimp beads. I used these black colored crimp beads.
5: One lobster clasp. I used this black colored lobster clasp.
6: One jump ring.
7: Beads of your choice. I used a selection of pink and white glass beads.
The steps for making this broach necklace:
1: The first step is to remove the pin from the back of the brooch. If you want to be able to use it again as a brooch i recommend skipping this step and leaving the pin where it is. To remove the pin you can either try to pull it off using your flat nose pliers or cut it off using the cutting pliers.
2: Cut a length of tiger tail wire long enough to fit comfortably around your neck.
3: Using the cutting pliers, cut the length of tiger tail wire in half. These pieces will be used to make either side of the necklace.
4: Take one piece of tiger tail wire and add two crimp beads to the end. Then wrap the end around the back pin prong on the brooch. Make sure you pull the wire tight around the pin and through the crimps to ensure that it stays in place.
5: Once the loop has been formed, squash the crimp beads using your pliers to secure the strand in place. Because of the way this brooch was formed I needed to use my round nose pliers to squash the crimps but you can also use flat nose pliers to secure the crimps in place.
6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the second strand, attaching it to the other pin prong on the back of the brooch.
7: Begin adding beads to one side of the necklace in your chosen pattern.
8: When you reach the end of the first strand, add two crimp beads and the lobster clasp.
9: Loop the tiger tail around the clasp and back through the crimp beads. Make sure you pull it tight before squashing the crimp beads.
10: Once your tiger tail wire has been pulled tight, use the flat nose pliers to squash the crimps and secure the end of the strand.
11: Trim any excess wire using the cutting pliers.
12: Repeat steps 7 to 11 for the second strand, this time adding the jump ring to the end rather than a clasp.
13: Once you have completed the second strand of the necklace your new piece of jewelry is complete! Using a vintage brooch is a great way to make sure that you will have a special design that no one else has. How’s that for exclusive?!
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