Make a Hatpin from a Bottle Cap

Hatpins are decorative pins that help women secure hats so they do not fly away when the wind blows. Hats had fallen out of favor until the recent engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The lovely Kate appears to have brought large hats back to the masses. No need to wait for the Kentucky Derby to get out your old hat... or to brandish that wonderful find from the estate sale.

Hats are making a come back and that means a renewed need for hatpins! We made this simple hatpin using wire and beer bottle cap. We used 16-gauge nickle silver wire because nickel silver is quite strong and is unlikely to bend with use over time. (Of course, some folks are allergic to nickel. Don't use nickel silver if you are allergic to nickel. Stainless steel is a good substitute.) You can also use brass, copper, sterling silver, gold-fill or even gold for this project, but those are all softer metals that are not as great to use as a stick pin or hat pin.

Materials
Bottle cap
16-gauge wire
Clutch finding
JB Weld

Before: bottle cap and wire

Tools
Wire cutter
Vise
Ball pein hammer
Drill & size 55 drill bit

Step 1
Measure a 5-inch piece of 16-gauge nickel silver wire. Cut the wire using a wire cutter.

Step 2
Secure the wire in a vise so that only 1/4-inch of the wire shows. Hit the top of the wire with a hammer to flatten that end of the wire and create a "head" for the pin. Remove the wire from the vise. Sand away tool marks, if any.

Step 3
Sharpen the other end of the wire to a point using a file. Be sure the point is

Feed the wire through the bottle cap

centered and that the point has a gradual slope that will easily pass through fabric.

Step 4
Mark the bottle cap with an automatic center punch and prepare to drill two holes in the bottle cap. Check to be sure the two holes are aligned and the wire will pass through the two holes. Drill the holes using a size 55 drill bit.

 Step 5

After: Hat pin by GeltDesigns.com

Feed the wire through the two holes in the bottle cap. The 16-gauge wire will just barely fit through the holes drilled with a size 55 bit. Use pliers to pull the wire through the bottle cap until the head of the pin sits fluch against the bottle cap.

 Step 6
Add a drop of JB Weld where the bottle cap hits the wire for added security (if desired).

Step 7
Slip clutch finding on the pointed end of the wire to secure the pin.

Related Tutorials
Make Earrings from Beer Bottle Caps
Make a Bracelet from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Cuff Links from Beer Bottle Caps
Make Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make a Necklace from Plastic Bottle Caps
Make Chanukah Menorah Earrings from Plastic Bottle Caps

Further Reading
"1000 Jewelry Inspirations (mini): Beads, Baubles, Dangles, and Chains (1000 Series)"; Sandra Salamony; 2011.

Day 117 Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: beer bottle cap, wire
New Jewelry a Day.  

Make a Pate De Verre Clover Pin

Before: Glass by GeltDesigns.com & pin

OK, so today's project is not made with found objects... but I really wanted to share the pate de verre pin we made to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We toyed with a number of different colors and designed and bothe the girls at NJAD were really pleased with the results with this pin.


Materials
Pate de verre clover
1-inch pin back
Glue

Tools
Glass fusing tools
Bullseye glass powder

After: Pin by GeltDesigns.com

Step 1
Make the pate de verre glass clover. Make a mold and fill the mold with glass powder. Place the filled mold in the freezer for at least one hour but no longer than overnight. Unmold the frozen glass powder. Fire the glass in a glass fusing kiln taking care to anneal the glass. Allow the glass to cool to room temperature. Remove the glass from the kiln. File rough edges, if any, with a diamond file. Wash the glass.

Glue pin finding

Step 2
Glue the pin back to the back of the glass.


Related Tutorials
Make a Beer Bottle into a Heart Pin
Make a Pin from a Glass Pebble
Make Glass & Copper Earrings
Make a Pendant from a Bottle
Turn a Glass Jar into a Pendant
Make a Glass & Knotted Leather Necklace
Make a Glass & Brass Link Bracelet
Make Recycled Glass & Sterling Silver Earrings
Make a Kiln Formed Bracelet
Make a Glass Charm Necklace
Freeze & Fuse: Pate de Verre the Easy Way

Questions about Glass Clay
Fused Glass Tutorials by GeltDesigns 
Further Reading
"Warm Glass: A Complete Guide to Kiln-Forming Techniques: Fusing, Slumping, Casting"; Philippa Beveridge, Ignasi Domenech, Eva Pacual; 2005.
"Contemporary Warm Glass: A Guide to Fusing, Slumping & Kiln-Forming Techniques"; Brad Walker; 2000.
"Kiln Firing Glass: Glass Fusing Book One"; Boyce Lundstrom, Daniel Schwoerer; 1994. 

Day 117. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
New Jewelry a Day.  

How to Make a Pin from a Button

Before: button and pin finding

I have no idea where I first bought this button. I think I bought it at Britex on a trip to San Francisco many, many years ago. I know I used it on a suit made when Reagan was in office (I remember wearing the suit on the day that Gorbachev got out of his limo and decided to take an unscheduled stroll down Connecticut Avenue at lunch hour during one of his visits to DC). The button made a reappearance on a dress I recall wearing to a dear friend's wedding. Those are long gone.... I have no idea what happened to the matching buttons or why I only have one button left.... but I still really like the button so we decided to turn the button into a pin.

Materials
Button
1/2-inch pin finding
JB Weld or glue of your choice

Tools
Wire cutter
Wet/dry sandpaper

Step 1
Select the button.

Remove the button shank

Step 2
Use a wire cutter to cut off the shank of the button.

Step 3
Sand the button, if needed, to remove all sharp edges caused by removing the shank. 

After: Pin by GeltDesigns.com

Step 4
Glue on the pin back. (We did not solder the pin because we were not sure if the button was solid brass or just brass plated and we did not want to risk harming the button).

Allow the glue to cure overnight or according to the glue maker's instructions.

Related Tutorials
Make a Hair Clip from a Button
Make a Leather & Button Bracelet
Make a Button Bracelet
Make Button Earrings
Make a Chain and Button Bib Necklace

Further Reading
"Beautiful Button Jewelry: 60 Easy Heirloom Treasures"; Susan Davis; 2010.
"French-Inspired Jewelry: Creating with Vintage Beads, Buttons & Baubles"; Kaari Meng; 2007.
"Button Jewelry & Accessories: 20 Unique Projects"; Tair Parnes; 2006.

Day 115. Month 5. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent: 0
Found materials: button
New Jewelry a Day.  

Make a Beer Bottle into a Heart Pin

Before: Glass bottle

I miss the days when my three kids and I made Valentine's to hand out in school. Alas, they have outgrown the in-school, everybody-in-the-class Valentine exchange ... but nobody is ever to old for the annual V-day chocolate binge.  None of us can wait. Yum.

Today is Friday and project five of NJAD Valentine's Day week. We went back to our stash of bottles, broke a beer bottle into glass frit and fused it to create a nifty heart shaped pin. With so many, V-Day inspired jewelry, my daughter and I are going to have to negotiate who gets to wear what.

Have a great weekend.

After: Heart pin by GeltDesigns.com

Materials
Glass bottle
1-inch pin finding
Etching cream
Rubber gloves

Tools
Eye goggles Dust mask HammerKiln safe bisque mold
Kiln wash/ shelf primer
Glass fusing kiln
Welding goggles


Step 1
Clean the bottle.

Break bottle into frit

Step 2
Put on eye goggles and a dust mask to protect your eyes and lungs from glass dust and flying, broken shards of glass. Put the glass bottle into a plastic bag and wrap a towel around the bag to reduce the risk of flying shards of glass. Use a hammer to break the glass bottle into very small pieces. Warm glass artists call small pieces of broken glass frit.

We used a Carlsbad beer bottle. Carlsbad makes beer bottles in a really, really nice shade of green and the color withstands heat in the kiln.  

Put frit in heart mold

Step 3
Place the glass frit into a heart shaped mold prepared with kiln wash.


Step 4
Place the mold into the kiln. I based my firing schedule on experience from fusing the pendant from a beer bottle on January 4. I used a small top loading kiln, so I could watch the glass closely and see when the glass melted. For this project, I raised the kiln to 1500 degrees F and held it for about six minutes.

Note: Always put your kiln on a fire safe work surface and wear protective eye goggles (such as those used for welding or lampwork) when looking into a hot kiln.

Step 5
Anneal the glass. Lower the kiln to the annealing temperature(about 960 degrees F) and hold the kiln at that temperature for 10 minutes to anneal the glass.

Step 6
Allow the glass to cool to room temperature. Remove the glass from the kiln and wash off any kiln wash on the glass.

Step 7
Etch the glass. Put on rubber gloves and etch the glass with etching cream.

We etched the glass to give it a mat finish so that the findings were not visible through the pin.

Glue on pin back

Step 8
Glue the pin back finding to the back of the etched, heart shaped glass.

Related Tutorials
How to Make a Pin Back
Make Glass & Copper Earrings
Make a Pendant from a Bottle
Turn a Glass Jar into a Pendant
Make a Glass & Knotted Leather Necklace
Make a Glass & Brass Link Bracelet
Make Recycled Glass & Sterling Silver Earrings
Make a Kiln Formed Bracelet
Make a Glass Charm Necklace
NJAD Index (Days 1 to 60) by Type of Jewelry
NJAD Index (Days 1 to 60) by Type of Found Object 

Day 83.  Month 4. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: Carlsbad glass beer bottle
New Jewelry a Day.

Make a Spider Pin from a Toy

Before: Toys in the box

We've made pins before. We've made jewelry from toys before. We've made jewelry from scrap metal.

This pin also began as a toy -- a plastic toy spider. The toy needed a backing to both highlight the spider and allow enough surface to attach the pin finding and allow the pin to sit well when worn. We used scrap metal for the backing since a good part of the disk would be covered by the spider and the damaged area of the disk would not show.

Materials
Toy
Disk
Pin back finding

After: Pin by GeltDesigns.com

Tools
Disc cutter or jewelry saw
Half round file
Wet/dry sandpaper
Soldering torch 
Soldering & annealing pan
Charcoal soldering block 
Flux
Sparex pickle
Pickle pot
Copper tongs
Third-hand or tweezers (optional)
Glue

Step 1
Assemble the tools and materials. You will need a disk,

Before: Parts Needed

a pin back finding, a toy and some glue.

Step 2
Purchase a disk or cut the disk from scrap sheet metal using a disc cutter or jewelry saw. Flue the edges smooth. Sand away any tools marks or other damage to the disk.

Solder pin back to disk

Step 3
Solder the pin back to the top third of the disk. Pickle the soldered pin to remove oxidation. Rinse with water. Dry.

Soldering the pin back to the top third of the disk (rather than the center) will cause the pin to sit better win worn.

Step 4
Use chemical bonding (otherwise called glue) to attach the toy spider to the soldered disk. Allow the glue sit overnight to cure.

Related Tutorials
Soldering Tips
Thoughts on Soldering Torches & Other Equipment
Soldering Tips for Jewelry Makers
How to Correct Soldering Problems when Jewelry Making
How to Solder Using a Small Butane Torch
How to Make Pickle
Make a Lizard Pin from a Toy
Make a Pin from a Glass Pebble
How to Make a Pin Back
 
Further Reading
"500 Brooches: Inspiring Adornments for the Body [A Lark Jewelry Book]"; Lark; 2005.

"Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box"; Madeleine Albright; 2010.
"500 Plastic Jewelry Designs: A Groundbreaking Survey of A Modern Material (500 Series)"; Lark; 2009.

Other
Jewelry Making Set

Day 63.  Month 3. Jewelry from Found Objects.  $ spent to date: 0
Found materials: toy, scrap metal
New Jewelry a Day.