Surface Design for Buttons

by Kim

 I love these big 2" wood buttons from Blumenthal Lansing. And, you know me. If it is big enough to decorate, then I am doing it. These days, buttons come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and designs, so you can almost always find the perfect button for your project. But, just in case you need to personalize further, here are three ideas.


 1. Fill the center with Dimensional Magic or craft glue.


 Sprinkle seed beads into the wet glue.

 2. Choose a fabric.


 Decoupage it to cover the front of the button. After the fabric is dry, re-open the button holes with something sharp or pointy. I used a small nail to start the holes and widened them with the handle end of a small paintbrush.


3. Just paint. This is Folk Art Poppy, Yellow Lime, and Licorice.


Use any of these on your craft projects. They will not wash very well, but you can use them on clothing. Stitch through the buttonholes with thread. Don't attach them to anything, just put thread in the holes. Knot it so it will stay. Then attach it to the garment with these pins. When you wash the garment, just un-pin them. Make a different set of buttons for a sweater or jacket for each holiday......


I hope this has sparked your Vitamin C and you have more ideas for designing your own buttons.


Use your Vitamin C!

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Posted by Kim at 3:48 PM 2 creative thoughts
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Tiny Organization

by Kim

I am trying not to sweat the small stuff.

Recently, I saw this idea of storing and using your glitter in old salt and pepper shakers. And I liked it. So, I filed it away in the back of my brain.

Lo, and behold, last week, I was looking for lamps at Treasure Mart. And I found this. It cost $3. A treasure!

 I washed it and filled it with six beading items that I can never find around my house and studio. I am not as organized in my beading supplies as I could be. Part of the problem is that I work in many different areas of the house, and I pack things to take with me whenever I leave the house. So, the small bits are everywhere. It is maddening to spend more time looking for my jump rings than it takes to make the project.  


Small bits I can now locate:
1. head pins and eye pins
2. jump rings
3. ear wires
4. crimp beads (I know I have a whole bag of them someplace yet....see what I mean??)
5. silver spacer beads
6. black spacer beads


I can hardly wait to get a new project going so I can revel in my new organization!
Use your Vitamin C!

Posted by Kim at 4:38 PM 2 creative thoughts
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Safety Pin Bracelets with the Girls

by Kim


The girls came over and made safety pin bracelets. It is so much fun to craft with them. They know exactly what they want to learn to do. We have done pop top bracelets and sewn messenger bags.

I just explain and they run with it. It took them no time at all to string 60 safety pins.

Many thanks to the Human PinBall for the beads. We appreciated them very much!


Share your Vitamin C!

Posted by Kim at 10:37 PM 0 creative thoughts
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Knitting From the Stash

by Kim


I wrote yesterday about Trash to Treasure. Today's project is about Stash to Treasure. I am working on some Christmas ornaments and went digging through the stash to see what I had for yarns and fibers. I found two skeins that were too pretty to cut up for ornaments. They are mostly acrylic with some mohair and are so soft.


They were small skeins, so I knew I was not going to get a scarf, unless it was 2" wide. Scarfette? I have been thinking about these neck wraps, maybe for Christmas presents.  I am not sure what you really call them, but I have been drawn to them for some reason. So, I knitted up the skeins 15 stitches wide in garter stitch. It turned out to be about 24" long.


I had these two Blumenthal buttons. They are metal, kind of bronzey, with plaid lines on the top. They were perfect for this. I stitched them onto one end of the scarf.

Now, I am not a fabuloso knitter, and I am a lazy one. I enjoy the mindlessness of working the needles, but can't be bothered to think too hard about it. So, where I should have put two buttonholes, I did not. But, the buttons were small enough to fit through the stitches.

And then I found out that the scarf is big enough to fit over my head, so I don't have to button and unbutton each time it is worn.  It just slips on, looks pretty, keeps the neck warm, and then slips off.

Sometimes it just all works out when you take your Vitamin C!


Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Posted by Kim at 11:36 AM 0 creative thoughts
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Trend Report-Opposites Day

by Kim

 It is odd that two very opposite things are trending at the same time, but they are. I guess it is because they are desired by two very different subsets of people on this earth. The first is overexpensive luxury items. AKA, stuff for people with more money than sense. It almost made me sick looking at these, thinking about how much money is being spent that could be going for some real good in the world.


So, this Louis Vuitton purse goes for $35,000. You might be able to get your cell phone in it. 


 This is a Japanese watermelon that cost $6,100. It looks pretty much like any garden variety watermelon, doesn't it? 


 An 8.4 million dollar (yes, million) iPad made of gold. How many iPads could the owner buy for school kids?


 And a $445, 000 shirt. Comes in its own vault. 


 And on the opposite end of that is the green movement, also called upcycling. In my day, we called it trash to treasure. Only, I think we have lost sight of treasure in an effort to use garbage up.


This is exactly what you think it is.  Want one?


Ow!


 Really? Doesn't that hurt to wear?

 Used wall hooks, must be heavy.  And scratchy at the bottoms.


 This one wins my vote. I think it is clever, functional, and cute.

Guess they don't know this is against the law and you can be ticketed for it?


Your thoughts?
Take your Vitamin C!

Posted by Kim at 11:22 AM 2 creative thoughts
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Button Christmas Tree, Chapter 2

by Kim


Remember when I made this tree for Miss Joann in September?  It was for a Michaels webisode, and here it is!  


I'd like to thank the Academy....


Kidding aside, thanks Blumenthal Lansing and Michaels for letting me do such a fun and gorgeous Christmas project!


Merry Christmas!
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Posted by Kim at 7:13 PM 3 creative thoughts
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Vintage Bakelite Necklace

by Kim

 What's not to like with these bakelite pieces? They are vintage and color saturated.  My friend Karen has a bunch of vintage pieces from her Mother in Law. I have remade some of the pieces for her to be more contemporary, or to make several pieces out of one, so the granddaughters can each have a piece of Grandma's jewelry. This nice bakelite is hers.


 I did not get to see the original piece. When I got it, it had already been taken apart. 


What is bakelite exactly? It is the first plastic, and is really polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride. Not a very catchy name. It was an accidental discovery by a Belgian scientist named Baekeland in 1907. Read here for the story of bakelite. it is pretty interesting.


 I don't work much in warm colors, but I did have a few spacers and smaller beads to add in.


 I hooked the donuts together with circles of seed beads.


Then I  added a strand of the bi-cone beads and a strand of seed beads wrapped around it to form the rest of the necklace. 


Hope she likes it!
Take your Vitamin C!
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Posted by Kim at 9:27 PM 0 creative thoughts
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