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!