Another idea regarding the pins.....at places like Michael's arts&crafts they have small wooden boxes that open and close with hinges and stuff in various shapes. You could get some of those and have everyone decorate theirs.........My sorority does this sometimes for our new members as initiation gifts. Some press our flower and use special glue to adhere it to the top of the box(depending on the style of the box), they paint the boxes in the sorority colors or the favorite color of the new member, and paint the sorority letters on there, or our symbols and what nots.
Now that i think about it, you can probably do both the boxes and the pillows. You can make the pillows to put inside the lil boxes for the pins.