Category Archives: Quick Projects

50 Button Crafts: idea #13 – button family tree

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button tree via Bonkers About 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:

While this tree was a temporary creation of an Ebay seller, the idea is a good one using buttons from your stash to make a family tree. I can imagine adding small tags to the buttons for names. Another option would be to write names directly on the buttons. That method would make it very easy to add more names to the tree as your family expands. Lots of possibilities with this idea.

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 #12 – turquoise buttons bracelet

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turquoise buttons bracelet 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:

This button bracelet puts the buttons on edge. While this takes many more buttons, I really like how it changes the buttons into flat beads and give a completely different look. I can imagine making a beautiful but simple bracelet with a variety of white buttons that I have in abundance in my stash. I looked for the original place this photo was posted on the internet but didn’t find it, so I have no information on the bracelet above. It could be made with a clasp or some thin elastic to thread the buttons on should work great.

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 #11 – repurposed button charms

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Repurposed Button Charms from ECT TV

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 another twist on using buttons for charms. If you have other family memorabilia or maybe just the odd piece of “junk” why not mix it in with your buttons to add more history and interest to the project? This also give more room to make the charm more masculine with some hardware from grandpa’s nuts and bolts stash. Here is the tutorial video.

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 Trees: hand print quilt

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Family Tree Quilt from agirlandagluegun.com

This family tree made of hand prints would make a priceless gift. So if you know how to sew (or know someone who is willing) this would be an incredible project. My parents 60th wedding anniversary is coming up next year. Something like this would be perfect. Click on the photo above for more photos and how Kimbo went about making this quilt. I’m filing this idea away for next October.

50 Button Crafts: idea #10 – chunky bracelet

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chunky button bracelets from FunkyTrend.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:

If you like the recent trend to large chunky bracelets, this is the perfect idea for you. What a fun way to make a fashion statement and honor your ancestor at the same time. I have no idea how the bracelets above were made. I think I’d start with some wide elastic and sew the ends together and then stitch the buttons on the elastic. While I was searching for a tutorial on the above photo, I found the bracelet below, an actual example made in the 1960’s by this artist as a teenager by raiding her mother’s button box. In this example she used crocheted elastic with a button and loop closure. What a great example of this idea.

Grandmother’s City Lights Button Box Bracelet from Artfire.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 #9 – button cats

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button cats by Gatti Bottonuti via Facebook

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:

The moment I saw these whimsical cats I knew I had to share them. They are amazing. No idea how they were made. The Facebook page is in Italian and I’m not too good and getting Google Translate to work. But they are inspiring. It looks like one of the keys is the ears. This person used heart or triangle-shaped buttons. Not sure my stash has any of those but you could add some contemporary buttons or use something else. It would be so much fun to figure out how to make lab puppy button figure. I would probably have to use something besides buttons for their ears. I’m super excited about this. Hope it inspires you too.

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 Trees: 3D colorful family tree

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3D Family Tree from eHow.com

With spring around the corner, this would be a fun family project. It would make a great time to get the kids involved in a hands on activity. Click on the photo above for step by step tutorial. I also think it would also be fun to put together a kit and send to grandkids that are far away.

50 Button Crafts: idea #8 – button hair ties

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button hair ties from DreamPatch

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:

What a super simple way to re-purpose a special button. Love this idea. You could let a little girl pick out her favorite button from the stash and in no time at all transform it into a hair tie. Another possibility would be to make covered buttons like the one in DreamPatch’s photo from some special fabric or piece of clothing.

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 #7 – button headbands

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button headband from SugarBeeCrafts.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:

These button headbands are such a sweet idea. Mandy of SugarBee (photo above) adapted the tutorial from LittleMissMomma (photo below) to make it more kid friendly. This is a great project to teach kids about their grandmother, especially if you are using her buttons, and some really basic sewing skills at the same time. Perfect for a girls and granny day or the sleepovers I did with my nieces when they were young. Little Miss Momma has two version of her button headband. The second one is a no sew project. Click on any of the photos for step by step instructions.

button headband from LittleMissMomma.com

no sew button headband from LittleMissMomma.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.