Vintage Buttons Basics

Sooooo, you're lovin' Papertrey's new Vintage Buttons, huh? ME TOO! Buttons are one of my favorite, go to embellishments. To me, they just add a homespun feel to projects.....and just like on a cute little girl's dress, they add the perfect finishing touch. If you've been following my blog lately, you've noticed that I've been having fun making my own homemade button embellishments. They might look a little hard to make but they're really very simple. Here's what you'll need: (ribbon, Vintage Buttons, punched circles)

Punch or die cut a circle of cardstock, stamp it if you wish or use patterned paper. Add a little touch of adhesive to the circle front.

Then take a snippet of ribbon, about 3" in width, and form a loop.

Place your ribbon loop onto your circle and hold with your fingers. Center a button over the top of the ribbon loop. Using twine (I'm using Martha Stewart twine)....or embroidery thread, floss, string,etc.......sew the button to the circle. You'll end up with both ends of the floss at the front, then just tie into a knot.

Below are some versions of my button baubles. The top two were done using the method I explained above. The bottom left has the ribbon loop tied on top of the button and the bottom right shows a snippet of ribbon tied on the top of the button with the ends trimmed. Lots and lots of variations you can do.

And here's a finished card using my button/ribbon embellishment. All of my projects today use Pond Life, Hibiscus Burst and New Leaf ribbon, 2008 Bitty Dot Basics patterned paper, Stamper's Select White cardstock and Aqua Mist cardstock. Ink is New Leaf and Raspberry Fizz, and of course Vintage Buttons.

I think the button embellishments add so much detail to projects. I love the little *hoppy hello* accent piece too.

And here's another idea for your Vintage Buttons. I do this a lot...simply adhere ribbon snippets to your finished accent piece by *messy stitching*(stitching back and forth a few times over the ribbon)....and then adhere threaded buttons on top. So cute!Here's a close up:

And here's a little Artist Trading Card (size is 2.5" x 3.5") that I made using scraps from my cards. I used two pieces of Hibiscus Burst ribbon and simply adhered a threaded button on top. Such a perfect little accent piece to finish off my project.

Let's chat a little about adhering buttons to your projects. You can do this several ways. One way is to use glue dots that come in the little boxes. I use these if I'm adhering buttons directly to cardstock, they stick really well. Another way to adhere buttons is to use a liquid adhesive, Zip Dry is my favorite. I use this method if I'm adhering buttons to something a little bulkier like ribbon or fabric. A clothespin helps keep the button secure until the glue dries. And yet another method for adhering buttons is to simply sew them directly to your project, using a needle and twine or thread. Pop dots also work well if you want your buttons to be raised off your project a little.

Need more inspiration? Head on over to the other Papertrey Designers' blogs for more great button ideas:

Nichole Heady
Lisa Johnson
Lauren Meader
Becky Oehlers
Heather Nichols

Maggie Holmes

Inspiration from ATC's

I have to say that I had never made an Artist Trading Card (ATC) before Nichole asked the Papertrey team to do one for a special assignment. Be sure to check out Nichole's blog today to find out more. Above is my first ATC that I made, and it's part of a very special prize Nichole is giving away. You won't want to miss out. And check out Lauren's blog today also for a special PTI countdown post. And Heather and Melissa also have some new things to share.

Well, I got so inspired that I needed to do more ATC's. Not for trading or collecting, but as fun additions to cards. I started out by stamping some strips and circles, using Pine's Around & About Sentiments set. The flowers on the insides are from Floral Frenzy.Next, I cut some PTI recipe cards down to ATC size cards. I also cut a Spellbinder's Scalloped Rectangle for the backing, a larger circle for the accent piece and I stamped some polka dots from Polka Dot Basics onto Kraft card stock.

Then I assembled all my pieces to make ATC's. I inked the edges in Fresh Snow ink and added some Aqua Mist ribbon, held in place with a few *messy stitches* from my sewing machine. These little guys are cute and fun to make. Such a small little size to work with.

Then all I had to do was decide on some patterned paper(Basic Grey) and ribbon. The rest was pretty easy peasy...just adhere your ATC's to the card fronts. I did some additional polka dot stamping on the card base and also inked the edges with Fresh Snow ink.

These were so fun to make! Have you made ATC's? Do you trade them with friends? Perhaps you should try adding some to card fronts. They make great focal points on cards. Enjoy!