DIY Project: Button Flowers by Ink & Button
By annemarie on February 24, 2010 | Filed Under faces & places, guest bloggers
We asked Lisa from Ink & Button to share this fun, springtime craft with us!
Last May, I created a few bouquets of “button flowers” for the cupcake table at our wedding reception. Before the wedding, I brought my project to a babysitting job and was surprised how much fun the kids had helping me assemble my button flowers! I am so delighted to share this project with you today and hope that you and your child will also enjoy these blossoms of spring that you can make yourself!
Materials:
- Buttons (Look around the house for buttons that you might own, cut buttons off old garments . . . ask your child to go on a scavenger hunt for buttons, buy an inexpensive bag of buttons at a sewing or craft store, or look for a bag or mason jar of buttons at an antique store)
- Wire cutters
- 24 ga. wire (I like to use green floral wire found in the floral dept. of a craft store)
- 18 ga. Floral cloth wire stems (also found in the floral dept. of a craft store)
- Vases to show off completed flowers
Begin by selecting your buttons for the flower. A flower might have anywhere from 3 – 6 buttons, depending upon your preference. You might ask your child to select a combination of buttons that he/she likes and stack them together (largest on the bottom, smallest on the top). If you would like to include a shank button, (no holes) that button will become the top button.
Cut a piece of wire with your wire cutters that is about a foot long. Fold the wire in half. Poke the ends of the wire in both holes of the top button first, and then proceed through the rest of the buttons. If using a shank button on top, slide the loop on the back of the button through one of the ends of the wire, before adding the other buttons. Push the buttons to the end of the wire and then begin to twist the wire tightly together. As you are assembling the flower with the wire, you might ask you child to select the buttons for the next flower or organize the buttons according to sizes, shapes, colors, etc.
Once the entire length of the wire is twisted, use a green floral stem to strengthen the flower. Place the stem in one of the holes in the bottom button, and then twist the wire around the stem. Cut the stem to the desired length and arrange the flower in a vase. Enjoy!
You can find more crafty inspiration from Lisa on her blog or in her Etsy shop.
very unique and fun!
Great idea, and fun too!