Bluebird and Honey Launching Summer 10/11 at Melbourne Trade Fair

Another Button Project for a Rainy Day

I mentioned this great site recently http://www.projectsforarainyday.com/  as a great source of ideas and inspiration. 

Here is yet again another fabulous rainy day or weekend project and great way to rejuvenate an outfit or handbag. 

Button Flowers

These gorgeous flowers can be used as broaches, sewn onto handbags or fastened to a canvas to make a beautiful artwork. You'll need an assortment of old fabrics, felt, buttons or beads and anything else that inspires you. I have my grandmother's old button collection and have added to it with vintage buttons that I find in op-shops.

If you’re making broaches, you can buy the little pins cheaply in any good craft shop or bead shop. If you know someone who sews, ask for their left-over fabrics - small prints work best. The fabric layers need to be backed with at least one piece of felt and the bottom layer needs to be at least double felt thickness.

What you need

♥  Felt (assorted colours)

♥  Assortment of old fabric

♥  Needle and different coloured thread

♥  Scissors

♥  Old buttons

What to do

I find it easiest to cut the felt out first and then sew a square of fabric under the felt piece before cutting the fabric to the right shape. Then simpy sew the button you've chosen onto the top, it's that easy! Have fun with different combinations of colours and fabrics. Here are a few simple patterns to get you started, but I recommend just using your imagination!

How to Make a Button Card

Here at Bluebird and Honey we have quite a collection of vintage button's lying around. On 'projects for a rainy day' I discovered a great way to use them.
They had suggested a heart , but I think the same effect could could be achieved with any shape.

This is what you will need-

buttons
good quality thickish card
needle and thread
scissors

Method - 

Faintly draw a heart shape on the card with a lead pencil. Fasten buttons around the outline with a needle and thread. I like to sew on two points of the heart first and then work my way around each side. Of course, this leads to a web of threads on the reverse side of the card but you can always cover these with a piece of card or fabric at the end.