Aqua

   I sewed up some hanging dishtowels using some of the pretty fat quarters from the Riley Blake Bake Sale fabric collection.  These three hanging dishtowels are going to live with dear daughter.

   I love these patterned buttons.  So cute.

 






   

Time To Make Christmas Ornaments

   I've been busy making little things here and there.  My spool pin doily project is over now.  I've shipped the last bunch out on Friday.  I'm starting some Christmas decorations.   This little guy is the first of many.  Here is the video tutorial to this cute little snowman.  It includes the template.  Link here.

Button And Cat Charm Earrings

    I finally made some earrings with the lever back ear wires I found at Fire Mountain when I bought my elastic cord for the elastic button bracelets.  For this project I also had to buy 24 gauge non tarnishing silver wire and I got that from an Etsy seller.  I found the cat charms on eBay a couple of years ago, they still sell them.  They come in a group of 50 and I have a bunch left even thought I've made other jewelry with them and given some away.  The cat charms are Tibetan silver and come from China.  They remind me of Laurel Burch cats without all the colors.  I found the blue and white buttons on Lots of Buttons.com.  I had the small beads and the jump rings in my small jewelry stash.

  To make the button earrings I had to have some on line help.  I used a tutorial from youtube by Potomac Bead Company to get me started.  The link is here.  The cat charms are just attached to the ear wires with gray thread.  So simple.

   These were fun to make, but they took me a couple of hours because I'm not very good at making jewelry and I had to take the button earrings apart several times before I was happy with the finish.

  I have a couple more pair of lever backs that I'm going to pair up with more buttons and I'm also in the process of making some button brooches with felt and pin backs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

    Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving day.


    I do have one more project to share that I made last night because I couldn't wait to try the elastic cord I bought to make button bracelets.  I made these two bracelets while watching television last night.

    I love the little pretty painted wooden buttons and I have a ton of them, but they don't make the best bracelets because it's hard to keep the painted face showing when you are putting it on and wearing it, and the other side is just plain wood.  I did manage to get all the buttons face up for this picture.  I'm hoping I'll have better luck using the painted wooden buttons as dangle earrings.

Researching Button Crafts and Jewelry

     While I was making my hanging dishtowels last week I had the chance to explore my button stash and I realized that I need to start using those buttons I bought last year.  I've been researching button bracelets, earrings, and brooches.  I found a few different ways to make each item, some are more complex than others.  I like to use the easier methods for making each one.  I found the following websites with items that I like, some are video tutorials or picture tutorials.  

  Button bracelets:

    Youtube video tutorial making a stretch button bracelet

    Chain Button Bracelet tutorial

    Button bracelet on cord

  Button and fabric brooches:

   Fabric flower brooch

   Video tutorial fabric brooch

   Fabric brooch (no tutorial).  These are pretty cool and I think I could cut out 6 or 7 layers of petals to get a similar look.

 Button earrings:

    Youtube video to make button earrings

   Making jewelry with buttons is fun, but I love the combination of fabric and buttons since I have a nice supply of both.

   To make my button and fabric jewelry I had to get some other materials.  I ordered some elastic cord for bracelets, leverbacks for earrings, and some pin backs for brooches.  I've got my buttons out and I'm sorting them into groups for each item I want to make while I wait for the other materials to finish them.  

Small Fabric Christmas Trees - Fun Sewing

     I love to watch Debbie Shore sewing tutorials on youtube and in one of her videos she makes these ultra cute stuffed Christmas or any holiday or season trees.   Here is a link to her video: fabric Christmas tree tutorial. 

   They are super simple to make.  I just drew a big triangle on a piece of card stock and used that as my template for my tree pieces.  I used fabrics I found in my stash and you can decorate them with thread, beads, bells, buttons or even some of those miniature ornaments you find at the craft store.  I just tied some ribbon to the top to get the pictures done.  I can also see these as a sweet decoration in rooms with color coordinating fabrics and this would so make a cool big pin cushion near the sewing machine in a pinch.

  I did take some time off from working on my quilted shower curtain to make these trees because I needed a little break, but the shower curtain is coming along.  I have the top done and I also added the backing.  I'm in the middle of doing the quilting.  Once I finish the quilting, I will add the buttonholes for hanging and it will be done.  I should have it done in a couple of days and I will share pictures then.  

Crocheted Flowers on Brown Fabric

      So I crocheted these flowers a couple of months ago and last week I finally finished this project.  Not exactly as I had envisioned it.  I had a really hard time figuring out what fabric I wanted to put the flowers on and I ended up with this brown fat quarter that I pulled out at the start of the project.   I hand sewed the green buttons I bought especially for this project into the quilt sandwich to secure the flowers and I free motion quilted around each flower to give it some stability.  I'm planning on hanging this somewhere, I just can't decide how to hang it.  It will sit for a few months while I think about it.

    I'm working on making a quilt ladder and I have to start a new fabric project.

Looking For A Button?

   I've been working on getting my button collection under control.  It's not a big collection, although I did just order a bunch of buttons to add to it.  I hated sorting through every button I own looking for one I want or two that match.  It was super frustrating, so a few months ago I organized my buttons by like colors and today I finally bought the 8 oz. jelly jars to put the small groups in.  The larger groups are in quart Mason jars.  I love having my buttons sorted.

   These 8 oz. jelly jars have a quilted look to them which is extra pretty.

 

Button, button, who's got the button?

  I do!   I do!

   Today I ordered buttons in bulk.  I ordered green buttons, red buttons, multicolored buttons, and heart shaped buttons.  I ordered buttons form Artist Supply Source and from Amazon.com.  I can't wait to get my buttons.  Here is the variety of green buttons I will be getting.  These are from Artist Supply Source.  I decided that I wanted green buttons to put in the center of my pink flowers so I can finish my wall decoration up.


  

  Here is one of the pink flowers (I have 16 of these little beauties) that will be enhanced with a green button in the very center.  So pretty.