DIY Mosaic Brass Pins

Recycle leftover brass plates or tubing and make mosaic-style pins.

Most mosaic enthusiasts recycling home decor broken tiles, crockery and mirrors or working with mosaic pieces, referred to as tesserae, shy away from metals. This heavy-duty medium, such as brass, requires equipment for cutting, like band saws. However, you can transform leftover materials, such as brass plates, tubing or sheets, by cutting in desired shapes with tin snips. This versatile tool, generally available at local home improvement stores, has straight and curved blades, enabling you to make exact cuts according to your design. Reuse the leftover brass by converting shaped pieces into original, contemporary jewelry, like mosaic brass pins.

Things You'll Need

• Flat-backed pin
• Flexible tape measure
• Brass
• Felt-tipped marker
• Protective gloves
• Protective goggles
• Short-jawed tin snips
• Curve-jawed tin snips
• Paintbrush
• Metal-to-metal adhesive

Instructions

1. Measure the width and length of the flat-backed pin with a flexible tape measure.

2. Mark the brass piece in the desired shape with a felt-tipped marker using the dimensions from the previous step as your guide. Avoid rubbing the markings to avoid smears in unwanted areas.

3. Wear protective gloves and goggles to avoid penetrating your skin with sharp brass edges.

4. Angle the brass plate or sheet with one hand and cut inside the marked lines with tin snips. This step avoids markings on the surface of the cut pieces. If you are making fine details in the specific-sized pieces for your design, use short-jawed tin snips. Use curve-jawed tin snips around the corners to avoid sharp edges for the wearable mosaic pin.

5. Dip a paintbrush into metal-to-metal adhesive and brush the back of the brass piece. If your flat-backed pin is made out of another medium, read your brand's label to ensure the adhesive bonds the brass to the surface.

6. Position the brass piece onto the front of the flat-backed pin. Continue to repeat Steps 5 and 6 until all pieces are set according to your design. For example, you can overlap the pieces to create a third-dimensional mosaic or position the pieces, leaving a 1/8-inch space in between to resemble authentic mosaics without using grout. Let the pieces dry your brand's recommended time.

Resources

• "The Complete Mosaic Handbook: Projects, Techniques, Designs"; Sarah Kelly; 2004