I’m pretty sure that just about every crafter on the planet has an abundance of buttons – I know that personally I have thousands of them, enough to constitute several lifetime supplies for most folks.  as such, I’m always on the lookout for cute and clever button crafts.  I really love these simple pensant necklaces by Shellie at Craftbits!  It’s a great way to dress up a plain button, or to showcase a unique button in a special way!  [how to make wire wrapped button pendants]

Project estimate:

• Buttons, on hand or $1 and up
• Wire, on hand or $1 and up
• Chain or cord, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

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Serve up your 4th of July treats in style with this DIY button flag tray!  Angie from The Country Chic Cottage transformed a plain wooden tray into a festive, party-ready piece that will add funky charm to your holiday spread.  Make it out of a new, unfinished wood tray, or look for an old tray at thrift stores or garage sales and give it a makeover!  [how to make a button flag tray]

Project estimate:

• Wood tray, about $5 and up
• Buttons, on hand or $1 and up
• Paint, on hand or $1 and up
• Resin, about $5 and up
• Hot glue, on hand
• Star sticker, on hand or $1

Total:  about $10 and up

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Every girly-girl should have a pretty hand mirror! You could buy one from the store, but if you can’t find one that you like, or you want one that is special and unique, it’s super easy to make one from scratch!

Project estimate:

• Mirror candle base, $1
• Glass candle base, $1
• Knife, on hand or about $0.25 and up
• Ribbon, on hand
• Buttons, gems, and other embellishments, on hand or $1 and up
• E6000 glue, on hand
• Hot glue, on hand
• Nail polish, on hand
• Nail polish remover, on hand

Total:  $2 and up

Using a paper towel, wipe down the glass candle base and knife. Let dry.  Glue the mirror on the top of the candle base with your choice of glue. There is a space around the mirror. I glued small gems* around the mirror to fill in this space.

Turn the candle base over and glue the knife on. I have used E6000 on the knife handles for years without any problems.

Paint the bottom of the candle holder with a pretty nail polish. This will cover the back of the mirror. Let set overnight.

Cover the back of the mirror any way you like. It will take two levels to cover the back because the candle holder has small legs. I started with gluing gems around the edge of my nail polish*.

I then used random gems and ribbon to build up the bottom so it would be even with the legs.  I used hot glue to adhere gems to the middle of buttons and used them, too. Embellish as little or as much as you like.

*Using any “smelly” adhesive (E6000, etc.) may make the backs of the gemstones melt and bubble. If they have a sticky back, you’ll be fine. Leave it on the gem and glue to it. Hot glue didn’t affect my gems with or without the sticky back.  Because I used E6000, I used little loops of ribbon the bow to cover my gems on which the backs were melted.

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Mother’s Day s on the horizon!  Have you started thinking about what to make for mom yet this year? Jewelry is a classic Mother’s Day gift option, and handmade jewelry is sure to make mom happy.  This bib-style necklace is a great project if you have a stash of buttons on hand; even if you have to go out and buy buttons, it shouldn’t cost you more than a few bucks!

Project estimate:

• Felt, on hand or $1
• Buttons, on hand or $1 and up
• Hot glue, on hand
• Colored wire, on hand or $1
• Ribbon, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

This coated wire is very pliable and easy to bend and cut. Make two pieces in the shape shown above. These need to have a smaller end so that the ribbon will stay in place. The rest of the pieces are leaves and you can make them any shape you like. Do use an odd number as this will make your necklace look nicer.

To make the felt backing, I folded a piece of felt over and cut a “smile” shape. Hold it up to your neckline and look in the mirror to establish if it is large enough or too large.

Attach the side hooks and add the buttons.

To add the side hooks, one at a time, place them on the corner of your felt, apply hot glue and fold the corner over as seen as seen in the image. Find two buttons that are the same and hot glue them over the top of the felt, hiding where the side hooks are attached.

Place your leaves where you want them, and hot glue them into place.

I used a lot of shank buttons. Shank buttons are the ones that have the hole on the bottom of the button. I used my wire cutters to cut that part off, making it flat as shown in the image. I then hot glued it into the middle of an ordinary button.

I began using buttons all around the edge of the felt and then work Dan towards the center. The center buttons will be mostly covered so I didn’t have to worry about gluing shank buttons in the center. The rose buttons came in an assortment from a local dollar store. When I got the first layer down, I then added my prettier buttons. Also, for a little extra durability, I added one more button behind each of my side hooks.

Add the ribbon.  Cut two pieces of satin ribbon about 15 inches long each. Most satin ribbon has a pretty side and a not-so-pretty side. Make sure that the pretty side is out. Thread them each through the side hooks and hem them using hot glue. Also hem the ends of the ribbon with hot glue as well.

Tips:

• For safety’s sake, when you cut the shank off the button, cover it with your other hand.
• If you want to use regular buttons, please do, they will work the same way and look awesome. There are many different kinds, shapes and colours of buttons.
• Place several buttons where you want them and then, when you are sure that is where they are going, hot glue them in place.

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St. Patrick’s Day is quickly approaching – steer clear of those pinching fingers by wearing this cute shamrock pin!  Dig into your button jar and try this great stashbusting project; once you master the technique, you can also use it to make all kinds of other shapes as well!

Project estimate:

• Green buttons (4 small, 4 medium), on hand or $1
• Wax thread or embroidery floss, on hand
• Pin back, on hand or $1
• Hot glue or E6000, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

Making the stem:

• Sew through the first tiny button and tie the two pieces into a square knot on the back side. Cut the shorter thread.
• Take the next tiny button and using the thread, sew the next button beside the first button. They should touch each other.
• Repeat this step on the third tiny button. This completes the stem.

Making the clover:

• Sew through one of the medium sized buttons. Tie it in a square knot and then cut one of the threads.
• With one thread from the medium button and the one from the stem, tie the two together with a square knot.
• Using your glue of choice, attach them on top of the first medium button.
• Glue the bar pin on the back of the first medium button and at lease two of the tiny buttons.
• Sew through the three other medium buttons and tie them in the back using a square knot.

Note: You can use hot glue if you glue the buttons to where the thread from one is glued to the thread of the other.

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Are you a button saver?  Do you see an old mayonnaise jar full of buttons at a yard sale and find it impossible to walk away?  Do you have more buttons than you even know what to do with?  Then this project is for you!  Turn that button collection into a cute wreath.  It’s easy, and will give you an excuse to keep bringing home more buttons for your stash!

Project estimate:

• Foam wreath form, $1 and up
• Old t-shirt or scrap fabric, on hand
• Embroidery floss, on hand or $1
• Buttons, on hand or $1 and up
• Foam core board, on hand or $1
• Wire-edged ribbon, on hand or $1
• Pipe cleaner, on hand
• Hot glue, on hand

Total:  $1 and up

Button Preparation

Thread needle and sew the button, tying the two threads on the back side of the button. Cut the thread short enough that they don’t extend past the button. For interest, sew smaller buttons on top of larger buttons (1a)

If you have any shaft buttons (1b), save them to help fill in later.  You don’t have to thread them.  Sort buttons by colour (1c).

Wreath Preparation

Cut wreath in half (2a).  Using another piece of the same kind of foam, rub it against the sharp edges of the top of the wreath, inside and out (2b). This will make your wreath easier to work with and look nicer.

Trace the wreath on a piece of foam board and cut it out (2c).  Hot glue the foam board onto the wreath (2d).

Using scissors or a cutter, trim the foam board so that it doesn’t extend past the wreath (2e).

Fold t-shirt into thirds lengthwise, cut off the hem off and discard. Cut three strips that are 3″ wide and cut them so they aren’t round (2f).

Take the edge of one of the strips, fold it over and glue it to itself (2g).  Glue it to the back of the wreath fold side down and at a slight angle (2h).

Wrap it through the center of the wreath and around until you get to the end of the strip. The folded over part covers the raw edge of the strip of t-shirt. Glue it down to the back of the wreath (2i).

Once again, take the edge of another strip, fold it over and glue it to itself. Glue it to the back of the wreath fold side down and at a slight angle on top of the other piece (2j).

Continue doing this until the entire wreath is covered (2k).

Gluing the Buttons

Start gluing the buttons on in a triangular shape based on colour (3a).  Continue gluing the buttons in the original three clusters. When you get as far along as the picture shows, start gluing a row of larger buttons around the outer then inner edge (3b). This helps to cover the wreath better.

Glue the buttons as close as possible to one another. You will have some of the fabric showing through (3c). Once you’ve covered as much of the fabric as possible but you still have gaps between the buttons, start gluing some smaller buttons on top of the gaps (3d).

Finishing your Wreath

Tie a simple “shoestring bow” and hot glue it under the knot so it would stand up. Glue a button on top of the knot and put a dab of glue under the button so it would also stand up (4a).  Take each tail of the bow, fold and glue it on the wreath so that it stands out from the wreath. Glue a button on top of the fold (4b).

On the back of the wreath, directly behind the bow, I made two deep cuts into the wreath, about 1″ into the foam (4c).  Put a generous dab of hot glue on top of the first cut and push in one end of the pipe cleaner (4d). Repeat on the other side to create a hanger.

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Vintage button jewelry is nothing new, but every time I look at Pinterest, I run across folks taking new, fun spins on this classic craft idea. The tutes below range from classic to funky, so there are button jewelry ideas here for everyone!

1. Wire-Wrapped Necklace – Cindy from Craftsy shares a simple tute for turning vintage buttons into sweet little pendants with a little basic wire wrapping.

2. Designer Button Earrings – This tute from Hocus Kocis uses a cool spraypaint technique to show off carved details on a pair of buttons.

3. Cluster Ring – Blackbirds and Bumblebees combines vintage buttons and a vintage ring. And it’s lovely!

4. Lace + Button Earrings – Make these pretty statement earrings over at Cut Out + Keep.

5. Statement Necklace – Born in ’82 uses vintage buttons and felt to make a beautiful statement necklace.

6. Rings and Matching Bangles – Oh Dear Angie shows you how to make a matching vintage button jewelry set: ring and bangles!

7. Nail Polish Ring – Grab the biggest vintage button you can find, and use this cool splatter technique to make a bright, modern ring.

8. Button Cuff – A shirt cuff plus vintage buttons makes a surprisingly chic bracelet. Get the tute from Pearls and Scissors.

9. Button Stud Earrings – Do you have a particularly cute pair of vintage buttons? Shabby Kitteh shows you how to show them off with a simple pair of handmade studs.

10. Stacked Button Ring – What I love about this tute from Frieda Fliegenpilz is that you don’t need a ring blank to do it.

The post 10 Vintage Button Jewelry Tutes appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Now that Halloween has passed, retailers are sure to take a hard turn toward Christmas.  And as much as I love Christmas, that makes me sad because I also really love Thanksgiving!  So does Amanda from Crafts By Amanda, who used recycled cardboard tubes to make these Pilgrim-inspired napkin rings!  They’re as easy as they are cute, and chances are you already have everything you need to make them tucked away in your stash.  [how to make Pilgrim napkin rings]

Project estimate:

• Cardboard tubes, on hand
• Scrapbook paper, on hand or $1
• Buttons, on hand or $1
• String, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up!

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I am a saver of scraps and random odds-and-ends, so I am always on the lookout for ideas that are good for using up my stash of little tidbits.  If that also describes you, you’ll love these button tassel keychains from Julie at Sum of Their Stories!  Stylish, cute, and easy, these are a great stashbusting project, and would also make wonderful gifts.  You could even work them into your gift wrapping this holiday season as a bonus gift for the recipient!  [how to make a button and tassel keychain]

Project estimate:

• Key ring, on hand or $1
• Buttons, on hand or $1 and up
• String, twine, yarn, etc, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up!

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Buttons, buttons, buttons.  Every crafter has them laying around somewhere, right?  Over the years I have inherited several jars worth of them – more than I will ever conceivably need for garment making or repair purposes.  So, what can you do with all of those extras?  Johanna Rundel turned some brightly colored buttons into this cute, stretchy bracelet!  The instructions are in German, but the photos are easy to follow, and you can always run the page through Google Translate if you feel like you’re missing something!  [how to make a button bracelet]

Project estimate:

• Buttons, on hand or $1 and up
• Elastic, on hand or $1

Total:  Free and up!

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