Category Archives: Quick Projects

50 Button Crafts: idea #6 – button heart pillow

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button heart pillow from MayArts.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:

Valentines Day snuck up on me again this year. There are lots of fun ideas incorporating hearts and buttons that I pinned on my button crafts board but I choose this was for my post today. Not sure way but maybe two reasons, the simplicity of the design and its versatility. I can imagine this with multicolored buttons or with white buttons on a dark background. If you button stash is like mine there are lots of small rather nondescript white buttons that would work great for this. Click on the photo above for a step by step tutorial.

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: magnetic

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magnetic family tree from VisitingTeachingSurprise & StoriesByMe

This is a great idea for a growing and changing family. With the photos on magnets it is easy to rearrange to accommodate new members. It would also make a fun game to see if family members know who goes with who in your family tree. I didn’t find any directions for making the magnetic family tree. The original idea was on StoriesByMe’s blog for a product they sold but they don’t seem to be in business anymore. So you are on your own. But I think the concept is good and it should be too hard to figure out. If you figure it out or find a tutorial let me know and I’ll add it here.

50 Button Crafts: idea #5 – button flowers

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button flowers from craftandfun.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 is a really fun way to use buttons. Makes me want to grab some scraps of yarn, a crochet hook and buttons and try this out. The website linked above is in Italian but the step by step photos are very clear. Plus you can use Google to translate if you need to. I go to our local elementary two days a week to listen to a couple of third grades read. I think they might just like some button flowers 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.

50 Button Crafts: idea #4 – button bookmarks

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button bookmarks from iheartnaptime.net

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:

A big chunk of the button crafts I’ve found are jewelry so I thought this idea would be a nice change of pace. Plus it is super simple. All you need is buttons, paper clips, hot glue and some scraps of felt. Click on the photo above for I Heart Nap Time’s tutorial. If you have buttons from someone who loved to read these bookmarks would make the perfect opportunity to share a story about that person’s favorite book. I might just make a few of these for the kids I tutor in reading at the local elementary school. I think they would love them.

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: a colorful clan – InDesign Template

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Apex panaramic clan family treeversion of the colorful clan for Apex (the first puppy we raised for GDB)

A couple of weeks ago I did a post on colorful clan family tree for a 4″ x 12″ panoramic frame. I’ve put together a simple Adobe InDesign template to recreate the one from Parents.com. As I was working on it I realized that I didn’t need to have different colors of paper. With a color printer I could just print my background color.

For a sample I decided to show Apex’s (the first puppy we raised for Guide Dogs for the Blind) family tree. As you can see I don’t have all the birth dates and I don’t have any death date though some of these dogs have certainly passed away. But I though it would work to show what the template is like. Of course when you open the template up in InDesign you will be able to customize anything you would like from the fonts to the background colors.

You can download the Panoramic Clan Template here from Dropbox. When you open it up in Dropbox it will look like crazy gobbledegook. But once you save it to you computer and open it in InDesign it will work fine. I made this template in InDesign CS6. Let me know if you have problems or suggestions. I’m hoping to make more templates this coming year.

Family Trees: tree of hearts

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Family Tree of Hearts from PersonalCreations.com

This Family Tree of Hearts is customizable from PersonalCreations.com. Though you have no control over the arrangement of the hearts on the tree or which heart the names appear on, this would make a lovely addition to any home. Click on the image above to get the details.

If you have the time and desire you can paint your own version. Theirs is on canvas so you could pick up a pre-stretched canvas and get to work. Or you could use wooden planks to replicate the look of the background. Doing it your self you could put the hearts in a more traditional family tree arrangement, though I can see some advantages of the random approach. Doing it yourself would make it possible to add more hearts as new members join the family.

 

50 Button Crafts: idea #3 – simple button bracelet

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button bracelet by Hope Studios

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 would be so much fun to do at a family gathering. Have the supplies gathered and enjoy some storytellling, chating and bonding while everyone creates a one of a kind bracelet with ties to their family through the buttons and memories of making them together. Click on the photo for Hope Studios’ step by step tutorial.

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: a colorful clan

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photo by Aaron Dyer from parents.com

A project doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective. This idea from parents.com is easy to put together with a panoramic frame, your printer and some colored paper. Click the photo above for more detailed directions. If you register on their site they have a cutting template too. But I’ll make it my goal to put together an InDesign template to make it super easy to put in your families names. Watch for it on Thursday.

I think this format would also lend its self to putting photos in place of the colored paper. Maybe all in black and white or sepia tone. It could be fun with tightly cropped photos too. Some great possibilities with this. I’ve got to try this out asap.

50 Button Crafts: idea #2 – 3 strand button necklace

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three strand button necklace by Jodi Nobles

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 mix of buttons. It looks like Jodi used a similar wire-wrap technique as last weeks post on button pendants. (Jodi made it for her Etsy shop but is no longer available. You can click on the photo above to look at her current offerings.) So if you have a fun collections of buttons and want to tackle a more complicated button necklace this could be the perfect project.

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: family photo diagram

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photo collage by Cactus and Olive

Sometimes the best ideas come when you are solving a problem. This is one of those ideas. Loni Harris wanted to send her brother a family photo but the most recent one was a couple of years out of date and missing some new members. So she came up with this circular format showing three generations of her family. It is a brilliant solution and very adaptable do different numbers of children. Her readers loved it so much that she now makes custom version in her Etsy shop. At the time of writing this post she is taking a break from her shop. Hopefully it will be back up soon.

She did her’s project in Photoshop and Illustrator. I think I could do this pretty easily in InDesign. Maybe I’ve got myself a new project for Mother’s day or my Mom’s 92nd birthday. I’ll be sure to let you know how it comes out.

I’ve decided to regularly share ideas I find for family trees, so stay tuned. More to come over the coming weeks and months.