kaitlin’s trendy flower pins

Kaitlin is our guest blogger today, and not only is she a fabulous writer she’s bringing us an awesome project while still being frugal and re-purposing a few items. Check out her post below:

As a trendy girl of twenty-five, I find that most of my paycheck regrettably still goes to fashion. I love clothes, especially expensive clothes, but because of today’s recession, I’ve had to cut back…A LOT! That’s why it was so unfortunate when I discovered a spring jacket at my all-time favorite store, Anthropologie, for $118. I almost found the justification to buy the thing, when I realized that the only reason I liked the jacket was for the cute fabric flower pin that came attached. Needless to say, $118 for a jacket that I might wear for two or three months out of the year is ludicrous. I decided to seek a cheaper alternative for my need to be fashion forward.

A few weeks later, I stumbled upon a jacket at Forever 21 in a different color, but a similar style for, wait for it, $22.50! What a steal! I was so proud of myself for finding such a bargain! The only downside to the jacket was the missing flower pin. That’s when I thought of making one. It couldn’t be that hard, right? Turns out, it was the easiest craft I have ever tried to make (and I don’t even know how to sew!)

Using these directions I created the flowers, but I encourage you to use any template or even create your own! I used scrap fabric and felt that I had from other projects for the flowers. For the center, I used old beads that and antique buttons I bought on eBay for $1. Another great idea is to use the extra buttons you get from new clothing and coats. I always save them, but never end up needing them. The pin backs I had to buy at a local craft store for $.29, but you could easily take them off of an old pin you didn’t wear anymore. Also, instead of sewing the felt backing, I just used a hot glue gun. Since I don’t really know how to sew, the glue has a better chance of holding everything together. It sure beats spending $118, and now it’s even better because I created it myself!

I just love, love, love these fabric flowers. Kaitlin made me three flowers and each one is unique and beautiful.

Not only can they be used on all kinds of jackets, but they are also great on tank tops, t-shirts, bags, scarfs, etc. So many things to do with them and you can easily change them up often. Thanks Kaitlin!