If you've ever hoarded a stash of brads because you worried you'd never find decent ones again — this video is for you. I made over 200 brads in just a few hours using three different methods, and most of what I used came from secondhand shops, the bottom of my button tin, or that box of bling I never quite knew what to do with. Wire and buttons, stud earrings, and altered paper fasteners — all three methods are in here, along with every variation I could think of.
What we cover
Three methods for making your own brads: forming them from wire and buttons (including stacked layers for journal closures), converting stud earrings into flat-backed brads, and altering cheap metal paper fasteners with flowers, pom poms, flat-back bling, glitter, nail polish, paint, and more. I also show the brads working in real projects — journal closures, layered flowers, bookplate attachments — so you can see how each type actually functions, not just how it looks sitting on a table.
What you'll learn
How to make wire-and-button brads, including:
- Cutting and sizing wire for consistent prong length
- Threading wire through two-hole and four-hole buttons
- Layering two buttons on a single wire brad for use as a journal closure wrap-point
- Pinching (not twisting) the prongs flat so the brad lays cleanly against the paper
How to use stud earrings as brads, including:
- Bending the earring post down flat by hand or against a firm surface
- Feeding the bent post through pre-punched holes in your project
- Orienting the post bend to match the direction the earring motif faces (important for bows, animals, hearts — less so for round shapes)
- A secondary use: bending earring posts sideways to create charms instead of brads
How to alter cheap metal paper fasteners — the full list of approaches:
- Hot-gluing fabric or paper flowers, pom poms, and soft embellishments (hot glue works fine here)
- Gluing flat-back bling, broken jewelry pieces, bead caps, wooden embellishments, and flatback pearls with E6000 — the only adhesive I trust for metal-to-metal bonds
- Removing the self-adhesive backing from sticker embellishments before gluing, so the embellishment itself bonds to the fastener rather than the peel-off layer
- Painting with nail polish or glitter nail polish for a quick single-color finish
- Using glitter glue for a blobby-then-flat finish — it looks alarming when wet, but after 24 hours it dries completely flat and only the glitter remains
- Using glitter paint (cheap kids' craft paint works perfectly)
- Coloring with alcohol inks directly onto the metal surface
- Using markers to change the color of brads you don't like
- Stamping with archival ink for a simple pattern (though I'll be honest — this one needs more practice)
Why flat-surface brads are what to look for when altering — domed brads and shaped brads can work, but a flat face gives glue and embellishments the best chance of bonding cleanly and sitting flush.
How button brads work as journal closures — either wrapping cord under a single button or using the gap between two stacked buttons as the wrap point, which gives more friction and works especially well on thick covers.
How to attach and finish any brad, homemade or purchased — always secure the prongs at the back with masking tape, no matter how secure they feel. I do this with every single brad I use, bought or made.
Tips & gotchas
Wire matters more than you'd think. There's wire and then there's wire — the hair-thin stuff won't hold under any tension. You want something you can bend easily with pliers but that springs back slightly when you release it. If you can crumple it between your fingers like thread, it's too thin.
When pinching wire prongs, get as close to the button as possible. If you leave a gap between the button base and where you start the pinch, the button will wobble when the brad is in use. It's not a disaster — once it's through the paper and the prongs are open, it stabilizes — but if you want it tight from the start, work those pliers right up under the button.
Pinch the prongs, don't twist them. Twisting feels more secure but it creates a thick coil of wire behind the brad that stops it from sitting flat. A clean double-fold pinch is all you need.
For earring brads, bend carefully and slowly. Some earring posts will snap off at the base if you bend too fast or too far. If the post does break, all is not lost — you can still glue the earring face directly onto a paper fastener with E6000 and use it as an altered brad. (I have one in my collection made exactly that way.)
Hot glue is not the answer for metal-to-metal bonds. I learned this by gluing a whole batch and watching them pop off one by one. Hot glue is fine for fabric flowers and pom poms, but the moment you're gluing metal to metal, reach for E6000, super glue, or glossy accents instead. E6000 takes about 24 hours to cure fully but the bond it creates is effectively permanent — and a little goes a long way, because too much can seep through gaps.
When working with bling that has a self-adhesive backing, always peel the backing off completely before gluing. If you skip this step, you're bonding the peel-off layer to your fastener — not the embellishment itself — and it will eventually lift.
Glitter glue looks wrong when it first goes on. The blobs are alarming. Leave it alone for 24 hours and every bit of gel disappears, leaving only a flat surface of glitter that goes nowhere. The cheap kids' glitter glue behaves better for this than the more expensive craft versions — I tested both and the cheap one dried flatter.
Closing
The square ones I never used, the triangle ones that always felt wrong, the colors I didn't like — all of them are now candidates for altering rather than something taking up space at the bottom of a drawer. And with over 200 brads made and the knowledge that I can keep making more, I've stopped hoarding the pretty ones. That's probably the best outcome of the whole thing.
