50 Button Crafts: idea #20 – DIY button cufflinks

Posted on May 18, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

button cufflink tutorial from cremedelacraft.com

Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:

Is it too soon to start thinking about Father’s Day? If not, here is a super simple idea to make cufflinks (if there is a dad in your life who wears cufflinks). Clink on the photo above for detailed step by step instructions from cremedleacraft.com. This idea would make a really cool gift for a groom to wear if the buttons where from his father, grandfather or great-grandfather’s buttons.

It would be a good idea to document where the buttons for your project came from and any relevant stories or information about that person or family. If you are looking for more button crafts, check out my Pinterest board.

Family Tree: 8×10 Photo Pedigree Chart Template

Posted on May 14, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

As promised here is a link to the InDesign CS6 template for my 8×10 photo pedigree. (Remember that the template file in Dropbox will look really strange but if you save it and open it in InDesign it will look right there.) Feel free to use the template for personal use or gifts. If you’re not an InDesign user, I’ve open an Etsy shop focused on products for puppy raisers and service dog handlers called The Salty Pup Shop. I’ve got both the 8×10 and the 4×12 photo pedigrees available there as custom items. Proceeds from the shop go to paying for the costs of raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Family Tree: 8×10 Photo Pedigree Chart

Posted on May 13, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

I’ve really had lots of fun doing photo pedigree charts for pups. When I looked into having the 4×12 panoramic printed, I realized that not everywhere prints that size. So I changed things up and designed an 8×10 version because it is also super easy to find an 8×10 frame too. I really like this size. I’ll post the InDesign template for this tomorrow.

Yes, Banta has the same grandpa on both sides. When I first found that out I thought it must be a mistake but they sometimes do that in dog breeding. Kentucky was a very successful stud. I’m sure they were hoping that Banta or one of her littermates would be a breeder. Banta was selected for breeding but she was just too much to handling and she didn’t like having her blood drawn or the other things that female breeders have to go through so she was released by the breeding department after a week. Also as you can see I don’t have photos of Kentucky’s parents yet.

50 Button Crafts: idea #19 – multi-strand crochet button necklace

Posted on May 11, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

crocheted button necklace from Ljeans on Etsy.com

Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:

I really like the idea of using crochet to link together buttons into a multi-strand necklace. Many of our ancestors used skills like crocheting to make useful items and beautiful things to enhance their lives. A necklace like this is an opportunity to teach about those skills and maybe even teach a child or grandchild the skill of crocheting. Ljeans has a tutorial on Etsy that will take you through step by step how to make a necklace like the one above. It looks like it is mostly chain stitches so I bet the project would work up pretty fast, a great weekend project.

50 Button Crafts: idea #18 – Mother’s are Like Buttons (part 2)

Posted on May 7, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

Mother’s Day gift

Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:

Well my ideas for Mother’s Day got scaled down a bit out of practicality and time. Instead of doing a frame and quote I just printed the quote with an image on paper. It will act as a tag for a lunch sack full of apricots, attached with a paper clip adorned with buttons. Below is a png of the quote so you can print it on your own background or print on plain paper and embellish it with real buttons. Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

for personal, non commercial use only

Family Tree: family reunion thumbprint tree

Posted on May 5, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

Family Tree with Thumbprints by Elisabeth Ventling

We are planning a family reunion this summer and I think we should do a thumbprint tree like the one above available in the ElisabethVentlingArt shop on Etsy. While not a tradition family tree showing relationships of one member to another, this kind of tree captures those who are there at the family reunion. It seems like young and old alike would enjoy putting their mark on the tree. Have you ever done a thumbprint tree?

50 Button Crafts: idea #17 – Button Picture Frame

Posted on May 4, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

custom button frame via YankeeMagazine.com

Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:

This would also make a great Mother’s Day gift or birthday or anytime for that matter. All you need is an inexpensive flat frame. If the color of the frame isn’t similar to the color of the buttons you are using, it will look better if you paint it first. Then just glue on the buttons with hot glue or household glue. Slip in a favorite photo and you have a precious gift.

custom button frame from YankeeMagazine.com

Family Tree: FamilyTreeTemplates.net

Posted on April 28, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

Just came across this great resource, FamilyTreeTemplates.net. They have tons of kinds of family trees in pdf format, free to download, print and fill out. Some of them are also available in DOC format for $4 that you can edit and then print. There is an amazing variety from simple two generation charts to 10 generations, with graphics and without graphics, simple fancy etc. etc. Here a just a couple of samples. Click on over and check it out.

7 generation radial family tree

family tree coloring page

family migration chart

50 Button Crafts: idea #16 – Mothers are like Buttons

Posted on April 27, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:

Mothers Day snuck up on me and it finally hit me a couple of days ago that it is just two weeks away. My sister hosts most of our family gatherings but Mothers Day is traditionally in my court since I’m the only one with both my mother and my mother-in-law still living. It simplifies things by having it at our house. I like to give all the mothers attending gifts so today I did some searching for a button themed gift. I’m still working on the ideas but I’m sure about part of it. I want to do some kind of wall hanging with the words “Mothers are like buttons, they hold everything together.” Here are some of the ideas I found during my research.

I’ll report back with what the finished product looks like. Hopefully next week.

Family Tree: Hand Drawn Pedigrees

Posted on April 21, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

family tree drawn by Marie Lynskey

In my research on family trees I came across Marie Lynskey, a calligrapher who will draw a beautiful family tree for you. She has also written a book “Family Trees: A Manual for Their Design, Layout & Display” available on Amazon. Here are a few more samples of her work. Happily Marie is available to put her talents to work for your family tree.