50 Button Crafts: idea #40 – button Christmas trees

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buttonCtree

button Christmas tree made by Passmore Knick-Knacks

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:

There are so many fun ideas for using buttons to make Christmas trees. I’ve gathered a few here to inspire you (and me). Lots of opportunities to bridge into family stories about Christmas with this idea from your own personal memories or those handed down.

Noel button tree via Kay Lusnak

Noel button tree via Kay Lusnak

button Christmas trees via Pinterest

vintage jewelry Christmas tree from SomethingCreatedEveryday.blogspot.ca (it would be fun to mix fancy buttons with the jewelry)

button Christmas tree by CupOfDelight.blogspot.com

button collage tree from SewMuchaDo.com

Button tree from HydrangeasAndWhiteDaisies.blogspot.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.

The Family: A Proclamation – png template update

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pages 2 and 3 of my “The Family” photo book

So I finally figured out how to export my InDesign template for my “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” photo book into png files that could be used in the software of your choice. It is a multi-step process that takes two exports and the combining those files back together in Photoshop. So I haven’t gotten the whole book done but wanted to share the good news in an update. It will take me a while to process all the pages and get them uploaded. In the meantime, feel free to test out this spread and give me feedback on how you like it.

50 Button Crafts: idea #39 – button garland

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button garland from funkyjunkinteriors.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:

Here is another idea for Christmas, or any time of year. I can totally imagine this would be so much fun to make and use for decorating a Christmas tree or for a festive but homespun holiday look. You can use waxed twine (see the image below from HomeTalk.com), some light weight wire (as shown in by CountryMomAtHome below that), or short pieces of stiff wire like FunkyJunkInteriors.net did in the image above.

button garland wrapped around a candle from hometalk.com

button garland on light weight wire from countrymomathome.blogspot.ca

button garland tied around a package from bhg.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.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World – InDesign Template

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title page of “The Family”

While I haven’t figured out how to translate this project into png files, I have cleaned it up and prepared an InDesign template to share. Send me an email to raelyn@tellingfamilytales.com and I’ll send you the fold with the template, links and fonts I used. Here are jpgs of all the spreads from the InDesign template created in Adobe InDesign CS6. They could be used the way they are but there are issues with overlapping elements when adding photos and the placeholder text for labeling the photos. If you find them helpful feel free to use them for personal projects or gifts but not for any commercial use. Hopefully I’ll have the png images done soon.

50 Button Crafts: idea #38 – button snowman

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button snowmen by Urban Paisley

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:

Fall really feels like it is here but when I look ahead I realize that Christmas isn’t that many weeks away. I want to spend the next few weeks exploring ideas that I might be able to give as gifts this Christmas, so here is the first one. These little snowmen are super simple and so effective with how they use the button holes on the top button to make mouth and eyes. I tried to find the original posting of this idea by Urban Paisley but google keeps blocking my access, so I don’t have a link. But the idea looks pretty simple and easy to replicate without instructions.

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 #37 – button tree quiet bin

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button tree quiet bin from HandsOnAsWeGrow.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 change of pace idea for the preschoolers in your life from HandsOnAsWeGrow.com. If you have lots of buttons with no real provenance to go with them, this idea might be just the thing for you. Most of us have heard of quiet books well this is a quiet bin. The basic idea is a bunch of buttons and some simple pipe cleaner trees for the little one to thread the buttons onto. Here is the original post with more specific instructions on HandsOnAsWeGrow.com.

from HandsOnAsWeGrow.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 #36 – vintage button brooch

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vintage button brooch by Laura Carson

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 vintage button brooch is fancier than my style, I think it is well done and inspiring. Plus there is a very detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to make the brooch on Gingersnap Creations. I think it is a lovely way to showcase an ancestors photo and some buttons, jewelry and other small trinkets. Reminds me of an old damaged pocket watch I have from my Dad’s side of the family. Something like this might be perfect.

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 #35 – button bowl

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button bowl via wonderfuldiy.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 an idea that is completely different. I don’t think I ever would have come up with this idea but with a balloon and white glue along with your button stash you can actually make a bowl! It wouldn’t be good for food but I can image some balls of yarn or just let it speak for its self along with a photo or two of the ancestor whose buttons you used to make your bowl. Click on the photo above for detailed instructions and even a video.

another button bowl from wonderfuldiy.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.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World – 20th Anniversary

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http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/5870329/216f32c8d89d41a99cc4c265a88d34d6893a6103?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget

A few years ago I put together a book for my family using the text from “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”. Since this month marks the 20th anniversary of this document, I thought it would be a good time to share it. Over the coming weeks I will put together png files so that if you want to make your own book with you family photos you can do it with whatever software you like. I hope this works out to be a good way to share my projects. I’ll be happy to share an InDesign template with anyone who has Adobe InDesign. The advantage of the template is then you could customize anything in the document you would like. I was inspired to make this book by a project I found on the internet and is now available on PrestoPhoto.com as a photo book template.

50 Button Crafts: idea #34 – button & crochet bracelet

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button and crochet bracelet by iceice 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:

If you have some crocheting experience here is yet another way to make a button bracelet. I like it because it also highlights a skill many of our ancestors had. Here are a couple other samples of crocheted button bracelets with tutorials though one will need some translation to follow along.

button and crochet bracelet by Priscilla Hewitt

crochet and button bracelet by Creazioni Rita C.

button and crochet bracelet from craftideas.us

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.