DIY Glittery Clothespins {Monday Made It}

It's time for Monday Made It!  I'm linking up with Tara for this fun linky.

I made a few things for school this week. My first "made it" is this collection of sparkly clothespins.  Oh la la!


Now, I realize that embellished clothespins are nothing new, but it finally dawned on me that it would be a lot more efficient for me, in the long run, to display my students' work using the clothespins as opposed to stapling them in place every month.

Here's a list of the materials I used:
  • Wooden clothespins
  • Neon food coloring
  • Tacky glue
  • Foam brush
  • Glitter (the really fine kind)
  • Clear sealant (I used a spray Mod Podge sealer)
  • Thumbtacks
  • Hot glue gun
First, I soaked the clothespins in a colored water bath. Truth be told, I did this because initially, I painted the tops of my clothespins but thought they looked weird with color on the tops, but not the sides, etc.  I added lots of drops of neon food coloring to warm water and let the clothespins soak for about 3 hours.  Basically, the more drops you use, the darker the color will be.



Then, I let them dry (overnight) and covered the top of each one with tacky glue.  I used a foam brush to spread the glue on the clothespin evenly.



Next, I dipped the gluey side into a pile of glitter and sprayed the whole batch with Mod Podge spray sealer so that the glitter doesn't fall off all over the place.


Finally, I hot glued a thumbtack to the back of each clothespin. Now, I can hang student work more quickly and it will add a dash of fancy to the students' work!


I also made these tissue poms for the wall. I followed the DIY directions that Schoolgirl Style shares {HERE}.


To prepare them for the wall, I glued a piece of card stock to the back of each pom (so I have a flat surface to work with).


I'm going to use 3M mounting squares to attach them to the wall (they are removable, which is good because we are required to strip down our walls at the end of each year, but 3M also makes a permanent version).


Toodles!
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29 comments:

  1. I have cinder blocks and can never find the perfect solution. I'm going to try some of those squares. Love your clothespins and pom pons

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    1. Thank you! I hope the mounting squares will work for you...they're pretty inexpensive too!

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  2. Your clothes pins and pom-poms turned out really cute!
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

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    1. Thanks!! I can't wait to get them displayed in my classroom!

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  3. I have seen that clothes pin idea around. Your directions make it seem so easy that I think I'll have to make some! (Didn't even think about soaking them in dye to color them...)

    Jennifer
    Mrs. Laffin's Laughings

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    Replies
    1. I hope you can use the directions; good luck!!

      Aimee

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  4. Replies
    1. Thanks! I hope you do; they are so fun to decorate with!!

      Aimee

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  5. Hi Aimee!

    I love your glitter clothespins and tissue poms! They came out great.


    Jennifer
    Elementary School Garden

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    1. Thanks Jennifer! I'm excited to put them in my classroom!

      Aimee

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  6. Love your flat pom poms! Great idea! I will probably have to make my puffy ones, flat when the fire marshal comes around:( Thanks for linking up:)


    4th Grade Frolics

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    1. Thanks Tara! Those fire officials can be strict. Good luck!!

      Aimee

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  7. Oh man, your poms turned out so nice! I tried making them once and they were a disaster! Good job on the clothes pins too!

    Heidi
    Secondgradealicious!

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    1. Thank you! I have made both the flat ones and the full ones. I definitely stick to the flat ones when I make my own (this year, I purchased a set of full ones from Hobby Lobby and while they are still tricky to fluff up, they look a million times better than the full ones I have tried to make on my own). Thank you for taking the time to comment!

      Aimee

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  8. SO neat! I never would have thought to dye my clothes pins first! I like that it gives such a "finished look". Can't wait to make some myself! :)

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    1. Thank you! I really like how the whole clothespin has color now, and the neon food coloring does a great job! Have fun making some!!

      Aimee

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  9. I might have to try those pom poms. I have never been successful making them before, but now that I have specific directions, I might be able to do it. Thanks for sharing.
    -Jaime
    Bright Concepts 4 Teachers

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    1. You should! They looks so cute on the wall!! Try the tutorial, it makes it pretty easy. I hope you decide to give it a try!

      Aimee

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  10. Your clothespins looks super sparkly and fun!! Love them! :)

    Sarah
    A Sunny Day in First Grade

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  11. Replies
    1. Thank you! I can't wait to start using them!

      Aimee

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  12. Oh I love both items! I hadn't thought of pom poms on the wall, brilliant!

    Anisa @ Creative Undertakings

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    1. Thanks, Anisa! I'm excited to get them up!

      Aimee

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  13. Good idea to color the clothespins before adding the glitter.

    Jessica
    Wild & Fun in Pre-K

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    1. Thanks Jessica! It definitely adds to a more finished looking project. Thank you for commenting!

      Aimee

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  14. Great projects!!! I was thinking of a bulletin board them about kinder "garden" and those flowers will be great for it! Thanks for sharing!

    -Amanda @
    Teacher at the Wheel

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  15. I've just pinned your clothespin idea! It looks great!!
    Sara

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  16. Your clothes pins turned out great! I left mine super boring last year, but I love the idea of sprucing them up. One thing I learned...use two thumbs tacks on each. Mine feel apart several times last year.

    Marcy
    SearchingForTeacherBalance

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    1. Thank you for this tip, Marcy! Guess what I'll be doing soon? Gluing more thumbtacks to the back of my clothespins!

      Aimee

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I'd love to hear what you have to say!