Hot Glue Pins & Accessories!

Hey guys!

Today's method of making hot glue pins, magnets and accessories is so simple, I don't know why I didn't do it sooner.

So let’s get started!

• paper
• scissors
• hot glue gun & hot glue sticks
• baking paper or silicone

Optional:

• printer
• markers / pencils etc.
• map tack
• jump ring
• cord or keychain

First, we need images. You can either draw them yourself or use printed images.

Magazine cut-outs or stickers are an option too!

Next, cut out the images. Shapes with straight lines are the easiest to work with. But you can try shapes with curves as well.

Now you will need hot glue (more about that later), baking paper and something flat.

We will first cover the backside of the image with hot glue. I just noticed that the front image comes out better that way.

You don’t need to cover the whole image, since we will press the glue with something flat and therefore spread the glue.

Let the glue cool down, peel it off and repeat the same thing on the other side. You want to get the glue as thin as possible.

With baking paper, you get a slightly matte finish.

Now we just need to trim the glue. The thinner the glue is, the easier it is to cut with regular scissors. You don’t want to cut into the paper, it doesn’t look so good.

Long and straight cuts end up looking neater. 

Curves work too, but the more cuts you use, the messier they look.

If you want to make your pins shiny, you can use shiny silicone to press the glue flat.

Let’s talk about the transparency of the glue.

• Any hot glue that has a little transparency will work. Even glow-in-the-dark glue sticks work. But of course, the clearer the glue stick, the clearer the outcome.
• The thinner you can press the glue, the clearer it will get.
• Smaller designs end up looking clearer, because it’s easier to make the glue thin.
• A shiny finish is a bit clearer than a matte finish.

To create a pin, I tried glueing a safety pin to the back. It worked well and was actually nicer to use than some brooch pins I bought.

The safety pins were sharper than the brooch pins I got and I like that you can glue them at an angle, which makes the pin less bulky.

You can create fridge magnets as well! (Although I just stuck them on with adhesive putty because I’m cheap)

For keychains and jewelry, carefully poke the glue with a map tack and insert a jump ring. You can create double-sided pendants (like the keychain I made).

I hope you enjoyed this simple craft!