DIY Faux Metal Flower Brooches

These brooches are absolutely stunning and very easy to make. With vintage appeal and a faux metal appearance, they resemble the fancy pins I would find in Grandmas jewelery box when I was a child. They are a great way to dress up any part of your wardrobe by adding them to scarves, coats, headbands and everything in between. Also you can use them in your home decor for curtain tie backs or mini embellishments to frames. On top of all this, they make great gifts as well. So lets get started!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 Stemmed Silk Flower, Size Of Your Choice (must be an open bloom)
1 Can Of Shellac
1 Wooden Skewer
1 Brooch Pin
Glue Gun
Glue Stick
1 Old Towel
1 Clothes Pin
1 Coat Hanger
1 Piece Of Fine Grit Sand Paper
1 Acrylic Antiquing Glaze
1 Small Artists Brush

I find this project works best with large short petaled flowers, such as a sunflower or Gerber daisy, and for small flowers, mini roses or gardenias.

You first want to antique your flowers by painting on a thin amount of antiquing glaze around the edges of your petals and a little towards the center. Not to heavy. Wipe off any extra. Set aside and let dry.

Start by removing your silk bloom by sliding it up and off the wire stem. Next take your wooden skewer and insert from the bottom of the bloom in the hole from the stem and out the top. You want your bloom close to the end of the skewer with out falling off. So if it is loose add a chunk of tape to the end.

Lay your towel down on the floor under where you will be hanging your flower to dry, and hang up your coat hanger with the clothes pin ready to go. Take your shellac, bowl and flower to your hanging place.

Next, on your old towel add some shellac to a deep bowl, about a inch full. Your bowl should be large enough for your flower to fit in. Take your flower on the skewer holding it upside down, so the bottom of the flower is facing you, and dip it in the shellac. Moving it side to side, and up and down, until every last petal is covered. Now lift it up and let the excess drain for a few minutes.

After the excess has drained off assemble the flower on the skewer upside down on your clothes pin, and let dry up to 24 hours.

Now that it has dried, remove the skewer. Take a fine grit sand paper and gently sand away any drip marks or air bubbles. Take your brooch pin and adhere it to the back of your flower with hot glue.

And now you have a faux metal vintage like brooch.

There are many things you can do to these to dress them up more:

Add gems to the center of your flower after you shellac.
Spray glitter is a nice touch, add before shellac.

To use as wall hangings, just add a metal loop hanger on the back with hot glue.

The uses and possibilities are endless.