Beautiful Button Tree

I had to share this cute button tree made by Elsie at 

Kitsch and Curious - what a great way to reuse those

odd buttons that we collect in jars and drawers! I love 

how folks are always coming up with creative ways to 

use old salvaged materials and might even try my hand

at one of these (on my "to do one day" list!) What a great

way to display your pretty buttons!  

Button tree by Kitsch and Curious Elsie

I think this would be neat made with colored

buttons that match the seasons: 

One in autumn shades of orange, red and brown for fall.

One in white and clear buttons for winter.

One in light green with maybe some pale pink here

and there for springtime.

One with bright greens for summer.

What do you think?

Bohemain Mother Of Pearl Button Necklace Tutorial

I've had these old mother of pearl buttons lying around on my workbench just 

waiting to be made into something special.  Before I turn some of them into a home 

decor project though, I picked the nicest ones out and decided to turn them into a

beautiful piece of Bohemian button jewelry. Check it out! 

I measured and cut a length of sterling silver chain

 I cut some 3 to 4" lengths of sterling silver wire

Threaded a wire through a button hole then bent into a U shape

Pressed the wire snugly against the button

I wrapped the shorter end of the wire around the longer end

 I then created many!

I found the center link of my chain and attached the first button with a wrapped loop

Then I attached the rest of the larger buttons, equally spaced on the chain

Then I added the smaller buttons

Then I gave each one an extra wrap of sterling wire, nice and thick

Deciding whether to add some Amethyst or Apatite gems... decisions, decisions! 

I wrapped a few blue Apatite briolettes and then decided to add some crystal clear quartz beads too.

I love how these look like raindrops! I attached the quartz crystals to the buttons.

Almost finished... next this will go into Liver of Sulfur mixture to oxidize the silver...

Liver of Sulfur oxidizes the silver and turns it black

How it looks after the Liver of Sulfur bath...next it will be polished up with silver polish to bring out some of the shiny silver to create a nice contrast...

All polished up and finished!

I love how this turned out!

What do you think?

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(This necklace is available for purchase here)

Check out my new jewelry instruction book!

Button Button Who's Got The Button? Crafts With Buttons

I love the delicate look and vintage feel of mother of pearl buttons. I especially like seeing them used in a way that is different than their intended purpose...

Check out these great uses for old buttons and maybe you'll
be inspired to create your own button masterpiece!

Vintage

10 cents

Mona Lisa in buttons

Monogrammed pillow

Memory jug

Mother of pearl flower button bobby pins

Button star by fionaandtwig

Button necklace

Cute button display from 2gypsygirls

Paddle for measuring out one gross (144) buttons

Bird

Button bracelet

Button wreath by Cherblashley

Button Street

What do you think?

Vintage Bohemian Czech Glass Buttons made into Jewelry

Sometimes great beauty can be found in a small simple household object, such as button. Some of the most beautiful buttons are Bohemian Czech glass buttons, which are made in Prague. A few factories still produce newer versions of these vintage beauties, using the same traditional molds, tools and methods that their ancestors did.   

Czech glass buttons made into beautiful jewelry pendants    by Dishfunctional Designs

Below is a glimpse at a small part of the tools and the process of making pressed glass buttons from molds. Some of the molds are well over 100 years old.

 Negatives used to create button molds

 Button hand press with mold

 Button hand presses

Glass rods are melted in an oven

The molten glass is then pressed into a button mold

(Button process photos from creating the hive)

Pendant necklaces made from Bohemian Czech glass buttons by Dishfunctional Designs

Sunflower motif moonglow

Green paisley moonglow

Dark blue iridescent dragonfly 

Art Nouveau design in soft blue

White rose button

Scotty dog with hand-painted details

Hand-painted frog button

Cat button with hand-painted details

Dragonfly button with swirled glass

Art Nouveau flower motif button, pink moonglow 

Vaseline glass aka Uranium glass, shamrock motif button

Click here to learn about Vaseline glass