To be honest I like all buttons- big ones, small ones, shiny ones, matt ones, shank backed, two-holed, four-holed, you name it and I'll probably like it.
Nice, oversized buttons are fab for embellishing items such as bags, knitwear and cushions. Also, all you have to do is glue a brooch finding on the back and you have yourself a super quick, delectable accessory!
Whilst shop bought buttons work wonderfully well,and I have quite a few that are now brooches, it's still not quite the same as making your own button.
I do enjoy making my own big, feature buttons using air-dry clay, polymer clay or epoxy putty.
Below are a couple of examples of previously made ones. I like to use nail varnish and enamel paint to finish them off.
For this one I used terracotta coloured, air-dry clay with red nail varnish which I have only applied to the top surface. After I cut the basic shape and holes, I left it to dry in a shallow bowl to make it nice and curved, unfortunately that doesn't really come across well in the photograph.
These ones were made with white, air-drying clay with nail varnish and enamel paint to highlight the letters- see the link below on how to make your own.
This is an epoxy putty button, textured using lace netting and impressed with a star-shaped cutter before using various nail varnishes to highlight once set.
Below are glazed, ceramic clay but they require the use of a pottery kiln so are not so simple and unless you're super lucky enough to have a ceramic kiln at home (sadly I'm not lucky enough but, happily, I do have a local pottery club). Similar designs are achievable with the above materials though.
As you can see it can be simple to achieve a wide variety of results.
This previous post from August last year included a tutorial to make a teapot shaped magnet using air dry clay. You can use the same steps to make buttons by using your desired shape cookie-cutter, e.g. circular, and something to make two or four holes. I prefer something that actually cuts the hole instead of poking it as this displaces the clay. By cutting it, the result is much neater, i.e. using a small tube rather than something pointy- for example the barrel of a pen or lid versus a knitting needle.
Once the clay has dried/cured it can be decorated as desired. All that's left is to glue a brooch finding on the back and attach it to your favourite top/blazer/whatever and you're all set! (Although sometimes I add thread to the holes and sometimes I don't- depends on my mood I guess.)
Until next time craft in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x
I'm really loving all the statement necklaces that are so popular at the moment, there are some really bold ones available. I recently bought a silver coloured necklace very cheaply (from Primark, well actually Penney's as I bought it in Ireland) with the sole purpose of jazzing it up a bit and thought washi tape would be perfect to do just that.
The necklace consists of three crescent-shaped pieces attached to a single section on each side, these in turn are attached to a length of chunky chain. The front sides are smooth with a slightly beaten look while the reverse side has a ridged lip around the edge and textured surface.
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| Front |
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| Back |
I decided to add some colour to each of the crescents which graduate in size, getting slightly bigger as you go down, and decided to do this to the reverse side so I could easily apply a resin coat thanks to the lip.
The first step was to use flat-nose pliers to open the jump rings attaching each crescent and removing them but keeping them safe.
I then used some paper and a pencil to create a template for each of the crescents by tracing them as best as possible, cutting them just short of the hole on each side.
This is what I stuck the washi tape to, I attached short sections of tape completely covering the paper surface, I then trimmed off the excess. Repeating the process 3 times, once for each section.
I used three different tapes which I liked the look of together. You could do complimentary patterns/colours, contrasting patterns/colours, all the same- what ever takes your fancy!
I then glued each one in place to the corresponding section using epoxy glue. After this I coated each crescent in clear resin (here's a link to a previous resin post of mine: http://craftinernest.blogspot.co.uk/2013_09_01_archive.html)
Once this was thoroughly dry I used the original jump rings to reattach each crescent but the reverse side out, creating a totally unique accessory.
All that was left was to wear it with a big smile on my face :-D
Hope you like the result? Keep crafting in earnest, Craftin' Ernest!
