Chica English

Make Your Own Flower Brooch

 

I am pleased as punch to be posting my very first tutorial just in time for New Year's Eve. 

This year everyone is donning colorful beaded statement necklaces.  They are lovely but why go with the crowd?  My solution, a bright silk flower brooch that gives a pop of color.  Not only is it easy to make but you can enjoy all the oohs and ahhs as you tell friends you made it.

I recently made a red chrysanthemum brooch to wear to a jewelry exposition.  Here I am modeling it with Helena from Vivencias y Otra Aventuras.    It looked fantastic, if I do say so myself.  And you can do it too!

Step 1 - Choose a silk flower.  Personally, I love a fuller flower but I have made this pin with daisies and orchids. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Step 2 - Trim the back to get as flat as possible.  Then glue either with craft glue, a hot glue gun or epoxy (which is what I had on hand) to secure the the final 2-3 layers of the flower.  If using a less full flower be careful to ensure excess glue is not visible from the front.

 

 

 

Step 3 - Glue pin back and secure.  Be sure to check before gluing if the flower needs to be pinned in a specific direction.  

 

 

 

 

 

I place a small amount of glue on the flower where the pin back will be placed.  Then I carefully place glue on the pin back.  This provides more stability on uneven surfaces.

Let dry. 

If you are in a rush you can stop here.  Or you can cut a backing out of a material to cover the glue.  

 

 

 

The finished product modeled for your viewing pleasure.   This also looks lovely pinned to a jacket or coat.  So if you are ringing the new year in at a block party you can do it with style. 

 

DIY Jewelry Display

Forgive me for stating the obvious but I am the kind of gal who likes to make her own stuff.   Whether it be steamed Chinese buns or a flowered barrette.   I like handmade, especially when made by my own hands.  So when I started to look for a necklace display for an upcoming exhibition I decided rather than spend fifty smackers on a new display I'd make my own. The theme of the expo is "A Trip Around the World"  so I chose a recycled theme for my piece.  Then figured why not do the same for the display.   I had a few kooky ideas that didn't pan out.  Most far too embarrassing to fess up to on a blog.  Even if it is a blog read only by my mother, four friends and the odd sucker lured here by a poorly worded google search.   

In the end a truly simple idea won out.  Take a plain jane white necklace display and cover it.  So using nothing more than newspaper, white glue, a brush and a bit of water I transformed the display.   It took me back to the good ol days of kindergarten and learning paper mache.  Fortunately, the final product this time around was far more lovely than the painted clump of dried goo I made back in the day.  

I loved the result so much that I did a second version using the brown paper used by baggers at the market to wrap glass bottles.  Viola!  Gorgeous recycled necklace displays that are truly original.   I plan to cover my ring and earring displays too.