Sitting in a room filled with BUTTONS and saying “gee those would make cute earrings”! Well make them already – how many times is that going to keep replaying in my head. Today was that day…  

Quick and easy and guess what I’m gonna show you how you can create these…

Materials:  Assorted La Mode Buttons – for this project I used: style#24795 (silver 4 hole); style#46569 (shell); style#24706 2 hole disc.
Freshwater pearls – white and grey; wire earrings; 2″ head pins; jewelry tools

Above are the buttons I used however I added to the mix larger shells buttons just in case you wanted to go “bigger” (style#46792)

Begin with your head pin and pearls – slide the head pin through the hole (the pearl should rest on the bottom). 

Next slide the wire from the back of the button as shown in photo - bend slightly – then twist around the neck (approx 2 -3 times) as shown in the next photo above. Snip off excess with wire cutter.

For this project I used the above  wire with a loop – if you don’t have this  you can create your own – using the  head pin wire – snip off the pin head – with your round nose pliers grab end and roll towards you and voila you did it! So you are going to do the same procedure as we did in the last step – slide the wire from the back twist around the neck – snip off excess.

Open you wire back earrings slide it through the loop and look you’ve created yourself some GREAT looking BUTTON EARRINGS!

The combinations are endless – so many buttons to choose from you can’t go wrong. So get out there and create your own set – and maybe even make a set for your friend – you know she’s gonna ask! Better yet what about these as teachers gifts at the end of the school year!

P.S. – Don’t forget you show us your creations!

HAPPY CRAFTING!

HELEN

I honestly need to stand back and re-evaluate my time? Where did it go? We say this every year or actually when a new Holiday is upon us and with Memorial Day just a few days away (5 to be exact!) I better hurry up and decide what to create or pull out of storage! I’m looking around the office and well why not pull out a project from last…

I actually created this project last year for the 4th of July… Not many of us like to scroll through old blogs/postings so no harm in re-posting! (if you want check out the original blog from June 26th, 2012 – Patriotic Centerpieces…). here are some additional photos of the project…

Just to give you some ideas!  So visit your local craft stores and check out their Holiday aisle – I’m sure there are plenty of items that can be embellished with BUTTONS!

So how will you be celebrating the Holiday!

Happy Crafting!

Helen

It seems everywhere you turn everyone is embellishing their cell phone cases and well I thought I’d better jump on the Button wagon! As you can see from the previous post Cricket has completed 3 of her own and what great ideas and well you know I wanted to see for myself…

The trend is called “Decoden” – originated from Japan – “deco” being short for decorated and “den” short for phone – “denwa”. The base is like a “faux” icing and then your embellishing the top from beads, gems, BUTTONS, miniatures such as candy, desserts…you name it! When I say faux icing many people have used “caulking” which you can get from the hardware store.  Believe me from what I’ve seen this is not just for phones – it’s showing up on fingernails, boxes, e-readers you name it. But that’s the fun of it!

Although I personally have not tried the technique above – I took a simpler route “glue”… So here is my very simple, but bright, colorful cell phone!

Materials:  BUTTONS – Favorite Findings, Colors by Favorite Findings, La Mode, LaPetite; seed beads; plastic cell phone case; glue (I used E6000); dimensional glue; wooden craft stick; sandpaper

I actually lightly sanded my cell phone case so that the glue would adhere better (you don’t have to this is just an option).  Next step as you see below I laid out my buttons to give me a concept of what it will look like:

and from there I “schmeared” (not sure if that’s a word but it works and you know exactly what I’m talking about!) my glue using a wooden craft stick and started placing my buttons downs – there was no rhyme or reason. As you can see from the photo on the left it does look different – but at the end it all fit!  Next step I used was Dimensional Glue…you’ll see why…

Many of you right now are saying “are you kidding”? It actually went quicker than I thought – wherever there was a space I filled it with seed beads! This was just a bit tedious but the end result..let it dry for several hours before using!

Don’t forget to do the sides and careful not to obstruct the photo lens. 

Have fun with the project – we have such a great selection of themed buttons – flowers, rock theme, Sweet Treats (as in Crickets blog), fun bright colors. Check out some of our Favorite Findings – I’m thinking maybe gems – give my next one the “bling” look! Why not invite some friends over and see what each one creates – it’s endless. And don’t forget to share your ideas with all of us…

Happy Crafting!

Helen

So now that I’ve settled down and have caught up with everything (well almost everything),  I’ve gotten a chance to quickly put together a little something about the recent h+h show in cologne that we attended this year in Germany.

For those who are not familiar with h+h cologne – this is the International Trade Fair for Creative Handicraft & Hobby. It’s known as the leading fair for innovations, trends in the areas of handicraft and hobby.

From March 22 – 24th, 12,000 visitors walked through the show this year (based on trade fair info).  A total of 321 exhibitors from 37 nations represented the international specialist in trade from knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery and crafts.

In addition to exhibiting we were able to walk the show and to experience what the retailer sees…and honestly it’s very impressive! Here are some of my photos to share with all of you…

     As many of you know you start with a blank canvas and by the end of the day…

the next several photos were from COATS!

Felting very popular – this was actually created on a silk dress!

Above two photos – Miriam Tegels -hold the guinness world record for the “fastest knitter” and during this 3-day event women attempted to beat that record in 3 minutes! Haven’t heard the results however the woman can hand knit  188 stitches in 1 (yes I did say 1) minute!

lastly some art pieces that were centrally located! The Teepee – installation by Ute Lennartz-Lembeck. This photo does not do this creation justice – to experience this –  one needs to be inside. You feel as though you are in a teepee created of stain glass.

If your interested next years show is March 21 – 23, 2014 – MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 

Happy Crafting

Helen