Solihull Arts Complex

Core Creative – Button Craft: Make a Button Card

IDEAL FOR GIFTS, CARDS OR FRAMED

Read these instructions through completely before you start and check the items list at the bottom. 

 

Handmake a beautiful button card for a friend or loved one.  Perfect for a Valentine, Mother’s Day, Birthday or a Thank you card - or simply a lovely thing to make for yourself by popping it into an inexpensive supermarket frame to show off in your home.

First find some nice, relatively strong card.  Craft shop ‘blanks’ are perfect, otherwise any plain card, including packaging. You’re aiming for something that will still stand up with a little weight added.

Find your buttons.  Every house should have a button jar, full of misfits, leftovers or those spares that come in tiny little bags attached to new clothes!  Charity shop craft corners too are often packed with sewing treasures too.

Take care with small children and pets, buttons can be a choking hazard, especially when mistaken for sweets.  Work on a flat surface, away from babies.  No sewing is required unless you want to.  You can stitch through the card using a normal thread if you prefer, it just takes longer.

Decide on your pattern and test it out without glue.  This might be initials, name, M U M or shape out a heart, or a flower, or rainbow if you have enough buttons.  Experiment with button sizes and colours.  Optional extra - If you have thin ribbon, add a tiny bow, or buy ready-mades and experiment.

Once you are happy with your pattern, take a picture on a mobile phone! Then remove the buttons and draw a soft pencil dotted line as a guide to glue.

If you’re planning to write a message, such as Happy Birthday or To My Valentine, do this BEFORE you arrange or glue your buttons, it’s much harder afterwards (need to get the message right too!)

Check all spelling and spacing – nothing worse than squeezing missing letters in at the end!

Stick one letter or piece at a time, recreating  your button pattern using your phone picture to keep you on track!  If the card is fairly thin, keep the folded edge at the TOP of the card, this avoid buttons being so heavy that the card flops forward when complete.

If you’re crafting this to go straight into a frame, but still use card, as paper may pucker up.

You’ll need:

Scissors

Blank card folded

Selection of buttons, any size pattern, colour or type

Glue – preferably Copydex or PVA craft glue

Pencil for your guide markings

(optional items)

Thin ribbon, lace or bows

Frame

Marker or felt tip pens to add messages