Button Floozies

I know you're all getting your Valentines together to share with your own sweethearts, but in the event you need one more gift idea, I'd like to share mine with you. I love sorting through my vintage buttons to create a button heart for someone special. I've made quite a few of them and while they're simple to make, the effect is quite elegant. All you need is a 5" x 7" shadow box frame, a large supply of buttons (I like to do all of my hearts in a monochromatic scheme, so I choose buttons from the same color family for each heart), and a hot glue gun. If you're all thumbs like I am, you can use a low-melt gun instead. I take a heart-shaped template and place it on the velvet background of the frame and outline it with a light colored pencil to make the heart image that I'll use as my guide for placement of the buttons. Be sure to leave enough room around the heart so that you can put your piece back into the frame. Then, using larger buttons...

Hello, fellow button crafters, collectors, hoarders and all-around button lovers. My name is Donna Liljegren of Brynwood Needleworks . I'm one of the new contributors here, and I'm looking forward to sharing my love of all-things-button with you! Unlike many button collectors, my mum (who does not sew) didn't inspire my "Button Love". My "almost mother-in-law", Grace, whom I have loved for over 35 years, gave me her vast collection about ten years ago, and those beautiful buttons set my heart afire. Although I made the wise decision not to marry her son all those years ago, she and I have remained steadfast friends. She calls me "daughter", and I call her "Mom"...and believe it or not, her son and daughters and I are like family. I truly got the best of both worlds! When she shared her buttons with me, I came to realize the vast array of shapes, sizes, materials...and uses for them. I have been making my Button Hearts for years, givin...