Stick Pins

I love stick pins! Although they have been popular for awhile with the card makers and scrapbookers, I just recently discovered them. I am currently hosting a swap for stick pins over at the Card Swaps forum on the CardMaker's site. I am having so much fun with this swap and because of it I have learned a lot about making stick pins. So I thought I would share what I have learned.

First let me apologize for the really lousy pictures. No matter what I did I couldn't get a good picture. My son thinks it is my camera and he is trying to fix it for me. Hopefully he will find the problem and then maybe I can get some better pictures to replace these. If you click on the pictures it will enlarge the picture to give you a bigger and better detail view of the stick pins.

Pictured below is all you need to start making your stick pins. The top row of pins show the different ones I found on the market. There are the head pins which come in silver, gold, bronze and other colors. They can be found in the jewelry section of Hobby Lobby or Michaels and most hobby stores. The advantage of these pins are they don't have a pearl on the end like the corsage pins letting you start the pin with whatever you want. They also don't have a sharp point. This can make it harder for pushing the pin through a bow but it can be done with a bit of effort. You also don't have to worry about the recipient of your card getting stuck with the stick pin.

The other type of pin that can be used is the corsage pin. They come with a round pearl, teardrop shape pearl or a clear diamond shape head. Corsage pins can be found in either the floral section or wedding section of most hobby stores including Walmart. Corsage pins have a sharp tip for those who are looking to stick their pins in bows and want to be able to glide it easily. The sharp tip can be snipped off after it is inserted for safety if you like. Also in jewelry making sections of most hobby stores you can purchase rubber tips to slide on to the tip if so desired. Most of your corsage pins that have the pearl head come in white. I did find some in Walmart with a platinum and champagne color pearl. If you would like the pearl to be another color other than white, you do have some options. You ca color the pearls with alcohol inks, Copic markers, Bic markers, Sharpies or Lumiere paints. In the second row of pins in the picture below I show three that I colored. The first one in black using a Sharpie. The second in red using alcohol inks and the last one in lavender using Lumiere paints.

Once you pick what type of pin you want to work with you will need some beads. You can purchase beads in the jewelry section of any hobby store. Even Walmart carries beads. Another option is to use beads from old necklaces or bracelets that you no longer wear or have broken. Shopping at Goodwill and discount places can also bring some great inexpensive and fun finds of beads. I took some old necklaces from family members and used the beads to create some of my pins. I also purchased some.

Now that you have some beads picked out you will need some adhesive. You want to use a glue that dries clear and has a great hold. I researched the internet to see what everyone was using to glue theirs. I found that the majority like Glossy Accents, Diamond Glaze, Bead All, E6000 or Beacon's 3 in 1 glue. I experimented with them all and found the E6000 and Beacon 3 in 1 to be my two favorites. Both are fast grabbing and not runny. The E6000 I use a toothpick to apply and the Beacon's glue I applied directly with the tip. I do not recommend using Super Glue as it can cause your clear beads to become cloudy. I also found the beads did not hold well with Super Glue. I usually make my pin and make sure it is what I want. Then holding the pin with all the beads on I start adding glue and slide each bead up as I apply glue. You want to make sure you add enough to hold the bead but not too much that you have big globs of glue sticking out between each bead. I apply a little dab...slide a bead up...apply a little dab....slide the next bead up etc. till I have glued the last bead. In the first picture the pin on the bottom left has the last bead not glued yet. Wanted to show you what I mean. I will add a bit of glue then slide it up and the pin will be done.I then stick the pin in some styrofoam to dry overnight. If your not using a fast grabbing glue then you will want to have your pin hanging upside down to dry so the beads do not slide down before the glue is dried.



Easy Peasey...isn't it? But don't limit yourself to just beads. As you can see with my stick pins, I added charms, chain and even bows that I had from my sewing days. I'm working on some butterfly stick pins that I am making using the Martha Stewart monarch butterfly punch. I have seen some with flowers on them too. Wouldn't a stick pin with bows or flowers look cute on a Tilda / Magnolia card? Stick pins look great stuck in a bow or coming out of a flower on cards and scrapbook pages. Below I show an example of one that I posted last month using the stick pin coming out from the flower. You can see the whole card in my post for the Sunny Days Card Crop Rainbow Blog Hop.

For the swap I am hosting I also required the participants to make holders for their stick pins. I will post my holders soon to share with you all and hopefully my camera will be fixed by then and I can post some better pictures of my stick pins. It's hard to see the correct color and details in my pictures now so I hope that can be improved. I should have my butterfly ones done by then too to share with you.

I hope my post encourages you to try making your own stick pins. I will warn you though....they are addictive! I've become a stick pin maniac!

Thanks for stopping by!