50 Button Crafts: idea #35 – button bowl

Posted on September 17, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

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.

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

Posted on September 8, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

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

50 Button Crafts: idea #27 – button resin bracelet

Posted on July 13, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

button resin bracelet from resinobsession.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:

As a teenager I played around with resin and had lots of fun with it, so when I saw this button resin bacelet it took me back a bunch of years. Most of my creations were with sea shells, I never thought of using buttons or making a bracelet. This could be a fun project to do with a small group and teach them the craft of working with resin and sharing stories and memories of those whose buttons you are using or ancestors who also enjoyed crafting with unusual materials. Have you ever worked with resin? Click on the photo above for a step by step tutorial.

50 Button Crafts: idea #12 – turquoise buttons bracelet

Posted on March 23, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

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.

50 Button Crafts: idea #11 – repurposed button charms

Posted on March 16, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

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.

50 Button Crafts: idea #10 – chunky bracelet

Posted on March 9, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

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.