A few weeks back, my publisher asked me to write up either some crafting tips or a craft project for a new promotion they are doing. This gave me a great excuse to do some crafty exploring. I turned to buttons and felt for a few reasons—the biggest was I happened to have them on hand.
I’ve been in a cleaning out mode for what seems like forever. Between my two best friends moving the area (along with all their stuff) and my-laws getting ready to move to a retirement home, I’ve been thinking about “stuff” and how I really want to use what I have or give it to someone who might. Besides all of this, I live in a small house with two teenagers, a husband, and a dog. Space is an issue.
This brings me to buttons. I’ve been collecting them for a while. Truthfully, my daughter started me on this path because when she was a toddler, she loved buttons and would sit for hours and study their colors and designs, lining them up, making mosaics with them. So we bought several jars of them at yard sales and my mother-in-law and mother both donated to the cause. My daughter outgrew her fascination—I did not. Which must be why they continue to hang around my house.
I decided to make bookmarks with them and paper clips. I LOVED making them. I really find working with my hands to be a soothing meditative experience. I posted this photo on Facebook and people loved them. Now, I’m selling them on Etsy for $8 each. The buttons in my Etsy shop (Mollie’s Folly) are only samples, but if you order one that I don’t have I will attempt to match its style with other buttons I have. This pictures don’t rally do the buttons justice—some of them have this lovely translucent quality to them and I just can’t capture it on my iPhone camera.
Here’s a good sample of what I’m doing and what’s available:
I really like crafting where I’m using what I have on hand. These days, they are calling this upcycling. I like the word. How about you?
