Cheap and Easy Buttons (pins)

by maxwell_edison in Craft > Fashion

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Cheap and Easy Buttons (pins)

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Have you ever been in a store and seen rows of pins with witty sayings or cool pictures on them? i have, and individual ones can be up to 2 dollars. I am not willing to pay that much for a pin that says "i am the banana king!" (Now if it said something about broccoli, on the other hand... :D ) also, i love making things that are my own design. one day i wondered if there was a way to make my own pins, and so this instructable was born!

Materials

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The supplies you will need are:
old pack of cheap pins.
NOTE: I TRIED LOOKING FOR BLANK PINS ONLINE BUT COULD NOT FIND ANY (except those that you need a machine to assemble) IF ANYBODY KNOWS OF ANY PLEASE PLEASE TELL ME!
scissors
plastic wrap
your design of what you want on the pin (this can be from a magazine, drawing, etc.)
tape

Take "wrapping" Off the Pin

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if you have blank pins, you can skip this step.
see the border where the pin changes onto the back?
get a scissors and cut a little above here (see 1st pic)
now that you are started, peel the rest off with your fingers.
**** Make sure not to peel all the edges away ! if you do, the pin will separate! (see pic 3)****

Cut Out Image

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cut out the image you want on your pin.
it doesn`t have to be very exact, just estimate bigger. if its too big, you can trim it, but not if it is too small.

Attach to Pin

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place the image on your pin with a bit of tape on the back. trim around it so there is nothing sticking out.

Add Plastic Wrap

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plastic wrap gives it that nice glossy look and makes it last longer.
place it over your pin
fold it back and tighten it so there are no creases or wrinkles.
trim the end. the plastic wrap sticks on its own pretty well, but you might want to put a little bit of tape on the back to adhere it.
you can do several layers of this, make it last longer.

You Are Done!

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There you have it! an easy, cheap 5-minute pin that lasts a long time
you can use designs from anything!
magazines, drawings, printouts, game manuals, CD manuals. the possibilities are endless.