Articles : Tutorials - Paper Crafting

Button Bouquets

A Fun and Colorful Twist on Altered Art

I have jars and jars of buttons and they aren't the normal Mason jar size.  I bought the gianormous Mason jars you buy at Craft Stores that are great for decor and storage.  My buttons still don't fit into these huge jars and are overflowing.  This project is perfect for using up some of the buttons you accumulate.  I found there were some buttons that were too large or thick to use on scrapbooking pages and they worked wonderfully for this project.  There were also other buttons that were too pretty to use but now they have a new home in one of my bouquets. 

Supplies:

-Wire (see notes below)

-Pliers

-Wire Cutters (Mine were purchased from the jewelry section)

-lots of buttons

-a vase or container to place your finished stems

-Ribbon for decorating your container

-floral Styrofoam (optional)

***Wire-  I purchased wire from the floral department.  They have precut wire and spools of wire.  I think the precut 18" strands work the best.  You don't have to unwind the wire and try to straighten it and mine were $1.99 for 30 rods.  The spools of wire work just as well as the precut strands.  They require more prep work.  Cut each strand to around 18".  The only other thing about buying wire is the gauge.  As the gauge number goes up, the wire gets thinner and more flimsy.  I purchased and used both 20 and 22 guage wire.  I think the 20 guage is more sturdy when your stems are finished but it is a tiny bit harder to twist.  I think the pliers took care of that though. 

Instructions:

1.  Make a stack of buttons that will be the bloom at the end of the wire.  I started with one of the largest buttons I could find and made them progressively smaller.  I added between 4 and 7 buttons for each stem. 

2.  Slide the largest button onto the wire first.  I held each rod of wire in the middle and let the button fall to my fingers.  Make sure to place the button with the side you would like facing up onto the wire. 

3. Slide the rest of the buttons onto the wire in reverse order (i.e. largest to smallest or from the bottom of the bloom to the top.)

4.  Loop the top of the wire back through the buttons.

5. With pliers, twist the wire tightly at the base of the button. 

6. Continue twisting the wire to the ends.  With your wire cutters, clip the end to the same length or the desired length of your stems.

7. Arrange in your container.  I used floral Styrofoam in the example.

You can also place them all in a vase or pencil holder.  I have filled a jar with loose buttons and added them to that, too.

8. Tie ribbon around the rim of your container for additional decoration.

Enjoy!  They make great gifts or decorations for your scrapbook area.

About the author ...
Beth has been a member of the ACOT Creative Team since August 2007. She is currently a SAHM and lives with her dh, 6 year old dd, and 3 cats in Florida. She started scrapbooking over 3 1/2 years ago and has become completely obsessed with the hobby and loves the creative outlet it provides. She was a finalist in the KI Memories Celebrate Life with Color Contest and has been published in Memory Makers, the KI Memories Idea Planner, and Creating Keepsakes. In addition to being an avid scrapbooker, she loves reading, photography and baking.

Published on 10/01/2008. Submitted by Beth-W