Thursday, January 10, 2013

PINLESS BROOCH

Hey Everyone.  When we rarely get the chance to get out I do like to dress up a little.  And the way that I like to dress up an outfit is by adding a flower.  There is just something about wearing a flower that makes me so happy.  Not to mention it always is a great conversation piece and conversation starter.  The only problem with wearing said flower is that in order to wear it one has to poke holes in whatever one is wearing.  I know that I am not the first to present this solution, however, if you haven't seen this lovely little magical trick.... here it is:



Here is the flowers in question.  The red one came with a safety clasp so a cut that off.  The gray flower already has a flat metal clip that does not leave holes-but the reason I left it intact was that the clip is flat and wide as well as metal.

This is the backsides of the flowers now:


To the red flower I added a flat metal disc.  Husband had that lying around in his tool box- but a flat washer would do just as well. They can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes.  Hot glue whatever metal disk you are using to the backside of your flower/brooch.  You then will use a RARE EARTH MAGNET to hold you piece in place..  They are also known as Super Magnets.  An ordinary magnet will not work since you need the extra holding power so that when it is worn it stays in place.  I buy my magnets at Lee Valley.  For those who don't know- Lee Valley is an amazing store for tools, garden stuff, special big and little boy/girl toys.
When you want to wear the flower/brooch just sandwich your clothing between the magnet (inside) and your flower/brooch on the outside of your garment. To put on, I hold the flower in place and then place the magnet on the inside of my garment where the metal disk is touching the outside of the fabric. It is the greatest thing ever!!  No holes! And it gives the added benefit of really holding your piece where you want it.  Even if you can get over the holes that can be left, a pin just isn't enough sometimes to hold a brooch properly without flopping around.  The magnet gives your brooch a better hold.  This little trick would be great for costume or vintage jewelry as well.  This would also work great on hats, gloves or whatever you want to wear and NOT put holes in it.  These rare earth magnets are incredibly strong.  I have never lost a flower/brooch this way- EVER!!

As far as my Gray flower goes, the magnet works really well with the clip that is already there, plus the clip is wrapped in a nice ribbon so I didn't want to change it.  I was lucky enough that it was made out of metal.

So there you have it!

Have a great day everyone.
Megan

1 comment:

  1. Love this!
    Rare earth magnets from Lee Valley are a great discovery - we've used them for all manner and assortment of things around the house. I'll add this to our repertoire!

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