50 Button Crafts: idea #26 – button snowflakes

Posted on July 6, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

button snowflake by EmilyDawnWright.wordpress.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:

Maybe it is all the heat we’ve had lately but I couldn’t resist these button snowflakes this morning. Summer is a great time to prepare for Christmas and I can visualize these snowflakes in all the lovely white shell buttons I have in my stash. I found two tutorials one using Popsicle sticks for the base and the other wire. Depending on the size of you buttons one might look better than the other. I already have snowflakes on my tree so a few of these button snowflakes would be great additions.

If you have family stories about winter or snow or even your own memories, these button snowflakes would make the perfect little gift to go along with a copy of the story or if given in person the culminating gift at the end of a family story time. Then every time they see their button snowflake they will remember that story. Great way to make connections between family members.

button snowflake from Crafts-for-all-seasons.com

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.

50 Button Crafts: idea #25 – pearl button necklace

Posted on June 22, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

Earley pearls – a necklace made from the Earley family buttons

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 love this eclectic collection of buttons made into a lovely and fun necklace. The base of the necklace looks like some type of braided string or cording. I think one of the things that makes this work is how the creator make groupings of buttons, often of the same type. While most of the buttons are basic white pearl buttons there are a few other fun trinkets sprinkled in. I’m putting this project on my someday projects list. Sure hope that isn’t too faraway.

50 Button Crafts: idea #24 – button tote bag

Posted on June 15, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

button tote bag via pinterest

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 think this is a lovely way to use a bunch of buttons from your stash. I tried to find the original source of the photo but failed. I really like the simple square quilting and how it sets up the even spacing for the buttons creating a pattern yet letting each button stand on its own merits too. This would make a great gift for any woman in your family, from a grandmother to a young adult. Especially if paired with some stories and a photo of the person whose buttons were used in the creation of the tote bag.

50 Button Crafts: idea #23 – button bouquet

Posted on June 11, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

button bouquet from LillybudsBouquets on Etsy

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:

If you have a wedding in your families future, consider a button bouquet for the bride. What a priceless keepsake this could be made with buttons from the brides ancestors and maybe even some from the grooms side of the family too. An add-on gift would be any information you have about the ancestors whose buttons you use and any provenance on the buttons themselves. Here are a few more of LillybudsBouquets from her Etsy shop.

50 Button Crafts: idea #22 – button tie tack

Posted on June 1, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

from feelgoodstyle.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:

Here is a super easy idea for Father’s Day. Find an interesting button and super glue it to a tie tack back you can buy as a craft store. Wait for the glue to dry and all you need to do is wrap it up and add a card. It would be great to include the background of the button to add sentimental value to the gift. Maybe I should make some of these for all the fathers in my life. If you wants a little more detail on making a button tie tack, click on the photo above.

50 Button Crafts: idea #21 – felt house with button shingles

Posted on May 26, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

felt house from pakamera.pl

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 stumbled on this cute little felt house with button shingles on Pinterest. I can see creating something similar patterned after the house where my mom and all of her younger siblings were born. What a sweet gift that would make for my mom. Putting it on my list for future projects. The house was torn down a few years ago and it was emotionally really hard on my mom. I put together a book at the time for her but I think this would be a nice way to remember her childhood home. Do you have a family home like that? Maybe it could just be inspired by the type of home that was typical in the country where you ancestors came from. Lots of fun possibilities with this idea.

Embark Service Journal

Posted on May 21, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

Service Journal

A few months ago I helped my local young women’s group put together a service journal based on the LDS youth theme for 2015 “Embark”. I’ve been meaning to post a generic pdf here in case anyone else finds it useful. I’m finally getting around to getting it done. The good part is that the pages could be easily rearranged to start with any month, not just January. You can download the pdf from my dropbox here. The booklet is quarter sheet size so the pdf is set up to print 4 booklets on 8.5 x 11 paper. If someone wants the original InDesign CS 6 file let me know and I’ll send it to you.

The layout is pretty simple. For each month there is a scripture or quote, an idea for service and some blank pages for journaling. These were pulled from LDS.org along with the “Embark” graphics. The front cover has a banner intended for personalizing with a name.

Service Journal cover

Service Journal Title page

January scripture page

January idea for service page

blank journaling page

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.

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!