Buttons

Hands down, one of my favorite materials to work with is buttons.  Most of the items in my Etsy shop are dressed with a button or two.  I love them for so many reasons.  1. Their versatility: they can convey a casual or dressy look, they can be used as a focal point or a detail.  2. Buttons are whimsical.  Who doesn't love whimsy?  3.  They beg to be stacked, and the colors played off of one another.  4.  They're cheap and easy to find.  5.  Buttons always add a finishing touch to any project.

 
I have bins and bags and boxes of buttons.  If you don't believe me, just ask my husband.  I don't know why, but he is not a button fan.  Unless they're on his shirt or pants.  Then he LOVES them.  Something to do with keeping his clothing fastened...  I digress.

I wanted to share a couple of quick ideas, and maybe some inspiration to find some buttons and make something cute!  The first thing I do with my buttons, is sort them by size and color.

I usually find my inspiration as I'm sorting new buttons or looking through my collection for something completely unrelated.  That's when I fill my work table with piles of inspiration... like this:

Once I've done that (completely abandoning my initial project at this point...) I search through my printer's drawer that houses all of my ribbon:

I find just the right ribbon to complement my buttons.  I like to use embroidery floss to give the buttons a finished look.  It's also handy for affixing buttons to one another.  Once they are sewn together, I line a 40mm snap clip with 5/8" ribbon (tutorial forthcoming), and glue the button to the clip.  Voila! 

Another super-easy project is to string buttons together using elasticized string, and make a unique necklace or bracelet.  It's a great project for kids - and you'll enjoy wearing it much more than a macaroni necklace!