It's Party Time: Custom Birthday Enamel Pins

Custom birthday pins are great for either a prominent gift or party favors. They can come in any design or style that you want.

How can you get custom birthday enamel pins? You can make or purchase custom enamel pins for a birthday. They create beautiful and unique gifts that can match any birthday theme. To make a custom birthday pin from hand can be a bit complicated but can make them even more special to the person celebrating their birthday.

There are a few things to think about when contemplating using enamel pins as a birthday gift idea. One thing you want to do is give yourself plenty of time. Another thing you will need to choose is the backings and style of enamel or button pins.

How Far Ahead to Order Your Birthday Pins

If shipping gets delayed or you are ordering pins for all attendees for a birthday celebration, then it might take up to a month for your order to be completed and arrive at your doorstep. It is a good idea to plan far ahead of time to make sure you have plenty of wiggle room in case there are setbacks in the creation process or shipment. A good rule of thumb is to submit the work order two months before you would like to be able to present them as gifts, which should give the manufacturer plenty of time.

Enamel or Button Pins, Which is Best?

If you are purchasing the pin as a special Birthday gift that is meant to last a while, then you will want to go for enamel pins. However, if you are buying something specifically for the day and are intending it to be temporary, then button pins are the more cost-effective option. Enamel pins can make perfect party favors as well, but they will be more expensive than button pins due to their higher quality and longer processing time.

If you are going to be giving the pin to a child or young adult, then it might be better to make sure the backing is magnetic instead of a clutch or safety-pin clasp. These are more expensive, but there is no chance of the child accidentally stabbing themselves with the pointed prong of a traditional pin backing. Magnets are also easier to take on and off.

Ways to Use Custom Pins for a Birthday Party

You can give pins out as gifts to attendees, the person who is having the party, or as name tags, if you are intending to have a large gathering of people attending. Enamel pins are fantastic for each of these uses. They are shiny, colorful and can add something special to the day.

Party Gifts

If you want to give out a bag of party favors to anyone attending, then you can use enamel pins in whatever theme you are using for the party. This is a great way to set your celebration apart from other birthdays they may have attended in the past and will keep them talking about it for months. This is a slightly more expensive option as enamel pins are generally $1.05 to $1.50 per pin for bulk orders with a usual minimum order of 50 pins.

Nametags

For birthdays where you are going to have a large number of attendees at a group event (e.g., tour, destination party, etc.), it might be helpful to have name tags as an ice breaker between people in the group who do not know each other well and also as a way to keep track of everyone. This can also be a fun way for them to remember the day. You can also do reverse name tags where the pins are all the name or image of the person whose birthday is being celebrated.

Fun Customized Image and Words

If you want to create a single enamel pin design to give as a birthday gift, then you will have fewer options since most companies that produce them require a bulk minimum to make it worth the cost of them. However, there are some alternatives. You can use sites like PinProsPlus where they offer pins for as low price and no required minimum.

Etsy is another excellent alternative for individual pieces though you will most likely pay slightly more than you would from a larger company. On average, Etsy shops that provide individually customized pins charge $1.50 to $2.00 for this service. It can be worth it if you find a pin design that you really like, which offers a custom message.

Cost of Custom Pins

The cost of custom enamel pins is really going to depend on what features you want and where you are getting them from. If you get a bulk order, it could be between $200 and $300 for 100 pins. If you choose additional changes like more than eight colors of enamel paint or more complicated backings like a deluxe clutch or magnetic bar, that cost goes up.

There are plenty of online companies that you can use, including smaller shops like Etsy stores and even print-on-demand sites like Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/). These are usually slightly more expensive than the vast manufacturers that have factories overseas able to process orders incredibly quickly. The downside is that the further away the factory is located, the longer the shipment time and the earlier you will need to order your pins.

Making Your Own

You can also make your own pins. There are straightforward kits that make it easy, and this can provide an even more special gift for the people that you care about. Button pins are the easiest to make by hand, but there are enamel pin kits as well.

Doing it by hand does mean that you will be stamping metal and hand painting the enamel into the recesses, so it might not be for everyone. It might be easier to customize and design your own image or saying for the pin and then have a professional stamp and paint it for you.  This is undoubtedly going to be the cheaper option as the tools needed to do all of that on your own can get pretty expensive.