How to Make a Brooch using a Picture Book Image

  If you have a button maker it may be easy to collect images you find in old children's books and make them into something wearable. But this is a less easy task if you are without a button maker. This tutorial will teach you how to use images found in old books to make a wearable pin.

Step One: Gather Supplies.


* If yo do not have any old books with cool pictures, thrift stores are usually abundant with them. Of course you do not have to limit your self to old picture books. Magazine images, images printed from the internet (but print at high quality on good paper), collage supplies, or whatever your brain can come up with should work too.
*I got the wooden circles at the craft store. They came in a handy pack of six. Some craft stores also have shapes like stars or hearts.
*The dimensional adhesive I use is called 'Diamond Glaze' and I have been happy with it so far.

Step Two: Find your images.


  I decided to make five pins at once, so I needed several pictures. I looked through a bunch of 'Golden Book Encyclopedias' and found all sorts of images I was excited about using for this project.

Step Three: Lightly trace your circle over the image you want to use.


Step Four: Cut out image. Erase any pencil marks showing on your circle.


Step Five: Paint a layer of mod podge on wooden circle and glue your cut out image to the circle.


Step Six: After the mod podge has dried, it is now time to use dimensional adhesive. This creates a glossy, three dimensional seal or glaze for your pin. 



Step Seven: Let dry. I let my pins dry over night and just continued the project the next day. You can use your own discretion on how long you think it needs to dry (or, even better, use the directions on the back of the bottle. My bottle doesn't mention anything about time.). Just make sure it is dry enough so you will not leave smudgy fingerprints on your pin while you continue working on the project.


Step Eight: Now that your pin is dry, it is time to add the part that transforms this wooden circle into an actual pin... the pin back! Use a strong glue to glue the pin back onto the wooden circle. Put the pin back toward the top of your circle (on the back). If it is in the middle or toward the bottom, it may have a tendency to droop on your clothes.


Step Nine: Let dry so your pin back will be secure.


Step Ten: Hooray! You are done. Now wear your new pin!


Here are all the pins I made:

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