Put a Pin on It

Drink a Gin Fizz and throw on some Squirrel Nut Zippers' Perennial Favorites, because this party idea is just the cat's meow.

Pins are popular! They're on everything from political supporters and punk rockers, to penguins. So why not on your party guests?

UNCG, Emo Kid After Dark. Bishop&Rook, Busy Beaver Buttons

Design

I love vintage advertising circa 1940-60 so I pinned a few inspirational pieces to my Typography Y Design Pinterest board in order to find the right style.

Found it (Inspiration)

Photo Courtesy of SimpleSongTypePad

Did it (My Design)

Bishop&Rook

Pinned it (Finished Product)

Bishop&Rook

I used Adobe Illustrator to create my design based on the inspiration piece. Since I'm a grownup and have boy-girl parties, I wanted gender neutral messages. Premium Party Mingles and Classy Ladies Fancy Dapper Fellas fit the bill. If you don't have Creative Suite, Photoshop can work just as well for your artwork. I am rentable if you don't have a graphic designer friend. Check out my Carbon.Made portfolio.

Making Buttons

Now before you scram off this page because you think you're in over your head, pipe down because you've got this, don't worry.

If you can't design, and don't have a pin machine (like most people), there are plenty of online services that can create custom buttons for you. I recommend Busy Beaver.

However, it is worth thinking about investing in a pin machine since this idea can be repeated for so many other parties, benefits, outreach ideas, self promotion, so on and so forth.

Check out Dr. Don's Buttons for button/pin machines, or better yet, let this little kid show you.