DIY Tutorial: How to Make Enamel Pins?
An enamel pin, also known as a lapel pin is a type of pin that people often attach to the lapel or overlap of corporate jackets.
Created by engraving designed images in metal, it is also worn on belts, hats, tote bags, and as dress add-ons to elevate your overall appearance. This indicates that enamel pins are fanciful and mostly used by fashion lovers and celebrity figures.
However, the functional part of enamel pins is thoroughly expressed with custom enamel pins. They have become a suitable means of expressing your persona, conceptions, brands, and businesses.
You can also use them to showcase organizations and programs of which you are a cohort. With custom enamel pins, your pin can be anything you want it to be!
How to Make Enamel Pins?
A lot of people believe that making enamel pins is one of those rigorous and time-consuming DIY projects you shouldn’t consider as a busy person. Some believe that you need to be an artist or even hire one to design your enamel pin.
However, with the instructions highlighted below, you will come to realize that you can make custom enamel pins with little to no stress. The provided guide will seamlessly walk you through this project even as a beginner. Let’s get to work!
Design your Artwork
The first and most crucial part of the production of an enamel pin is the design it carries. This is what conveys the message you intend to pass across, therefore, it requires you to be meticulous and attentive to details.
Once you have come up with an idea, you can either hand sketch your design or use graphic design applications like Adobe Photoshop and Inkscape. While designing your artwork, the following instructions will go a long way in ensuring that the end the final image is enamel pin-worthy:
- Keep designs as simple as possible because the entirety of enamel pin sizes are 1-2 inches.
- Use vibrant colors and bold lines to keep your pin looking sharp even from afar.
- Avoid shading your lines as well.
- Seek guidance from a custom enamel pin maker as to color choices because the final production process often changes certain colors.
If you will be hand sketching and intend to use a pin producer for your final production, you will have to scan and convert the image into an electronic file to be able to send it to a reliable manufacturer.
Determine the Sizes
As mentioned earlier, enamel pin sizes range between 1-2 inches making the small sizes fall with inches 0.75-1.25. From 1.25 to 2 inches are considered large sizes.
If you intend to pair your enamel pins with dresses, the smaller sizes will be best. For a more detailed design, the larger sizes will be suitable, but may not be fit to pair with outfits.
Note that whatever size you choose will be the size of the metal on which your design will be stamped.
Determine the Texture of Your Enamel Pin
There are popularly two types of texture for enamel pins, and both are determined by the level of paint used to fill in your engraved metal design. Let’s take a careful look at both:
- The Soft Texture: To create a custom soft enamel pin, the enamel paint you will be pouring will not fill the engraved metal to the brim. A 70-75% level of pain will be enough. At the end of the filling, you will be able to feel the indentation of your design on the surface of the enamel pin.
- The Hard Texture: In the case of the custom hard enamel pin, the engraved metal is 100% filled with enamel paint. The surface is then sand-papered to be even and smooth and even.
Choose and Attach a Type of Pin Back
The types of pin backs available for enamel pins include butterfly, clutch, deluxe clutch, double, rubber, safety pins, etc. The pins are responsible for the fastening of the designed metal to your dress and surfaces. While each of the pins has its pros and cons, you can seek guidance from pin manufacturers to know the one that suits you the most.
How to Display Enamel Pins?
Since enamel pins express art and creativity in a captivating way, collectors and art lovers would find themselves having them in large amounts and not knowing how to properly use or showcase them.
If you find yourself in this category, this section is for you! Because of the tiny nature of enamel pins, it is easy to forget them somewhere in your closet. Below are ways by which you can display them:
- Boards
Different types of boards can turn your enamel pins into a whole decor piece. Examples include cork boards, themed cord boards, shaped boards, and many more. These boards are made of materials that are strong enough to withstand the weight of the pins.
- Embroidery Hoops
Here is another fanciful way to display pins. Embroidery hoops can be bought, customized, or self-made in colors that complement your enamel pins. It can easily be hung on the wall to elevate your spaces.
- Shadow Boxes
Shadow boxes are just like picture frames that can beautifully display your enamel pins while also preventing them from dust. They become much more admirable when more than one of them is placed side by side.
- Pictures Frames
Picture frames can also be used in place of shadow boxes to give a similar effect.
- Pin Stands
Another way to showcase your enamel pins is by placing them on pinstands. While there are pin stands made specially for this purpose, you can also repurpose things in miniature in the absence of pin stands.
Where to Buy Enamel Pins?
In today’s world of multiple online vendors, finding a reliable and professional vendor has become a treasure hunt. This is where FastPrintStar comes in!
For cheap custom enamel pins and other brandable products, you will never go wrong with FastPrintStar. Their online interface and seamless, making it easy for you to order custom enamel pins in just three steps. If you are thinking location would be a barrier, their services, and delivery are worldwide.
What Makes Enamel Pins at FastPrintStar stand out:
- Rich Collection of Custom Enamel Lapel Pins
They offer not just regular soft and hard enamel pins, but also custom photo dome pins and custom die-struck pins. Your choices and options won’t be limited.
- Variant Colors and Pinbacks
Despite the color limitation of enamel pins, FastPrintStar can produce up to eight stunning colors of different custom enamel pins. Colors include matte gold, matte silver, antique brass, and many more. They also have six pin-back options for you to pick from.
- Free and Classy Packing Options
When you buy an enamel pin at FastPrintStar, your products will be neatly packed in an OPP bag for free. They also have other two paid professional packing of velvet bags and boxes.
- Other Free Services
To be certain your desires are met, FastPrintStar offers free samples as well as free professional guidance to all customers. You can also request a mock-up before the commencement of the actual production.
Create custom enamel pins at FastPrintStar to enjoy these unmatched benefits and more!
Conclusion
Making enamel pins is a rewarding DIY project that allows you to express your creativity and create unique, personalized accessories. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can design, produce, and display your own custom enamel pins with ease.
The process involves creating a simple artwork with vibrant colors, choosing a suitable size with the intended use in mind, and determining a preferred texture and a pin back. The last thing to do would be to choose a reliable vendor to bring your creativity to life – choose FastPrintStar!
If you are out of ideas on how to display your enamel pins, you can gracefully display them using boards, embroidery hoops, shadow boxes, or even personal items.
FastPrintStar is the recommended vendor for custom enamel pins, offering a wide range of options, quality materials, and additional services like free samples and mock-ups. Now let’s design and order your own custom pins!
Custom Soft Enamel Pin
- Raised metal & Recessed enamel
- Rich, vivid colors
- Bulk order friendly
