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Author Archive | Dana Gustafson

DIY No-Sew Fleece Pillow -Fall Themed

By on October 23, 2012 in Holidays, Home Decor, Kids Crafts, Occasions

Hi there!  I have a quick no-sew fleece pillow idea for you.  It’s quick it’s easy and so festive! You will want to make a  no-sew fleece pillow  for each season

Supplies for a no-sew fleece pillow :

Directions for a no-sew fleece pillow :

Cut two layers of polar fleece material approximately 3-4″ wider then the pillow you plan to cover.  No need to be exact, this project is really forgiving

Cut away the corners of the fabric and cut strips all the way round the outside edge approximately one inch thick.

Once everything is cut, tie the top and bottom matching strips together in a double knot creating the fun fringe look.  Don’t forget to insert your pillow before you tie your pillowcase closed.

Embellish your pillow front with fleece scraps cut into shapes representing your theme.  I free-handed a maple leaf shape for fall.  Glue on fleece shapes and other embellishments like ribbon and buttons to complete the no-sew fleece pillow.

Enjoy your new festive pillow!  Not only is it fun to look at but it’s cozy too!

This is a great project for kids!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Use Theme Buttons to Customize a Photo Clip!

By on September 10, 2012 in Home Decor, Kids Crafts

Who doesn’t love the dollar aisle? I picked up some simple photo clips the other day that I knew I could dress up with theme buttons to customize them for my daughters. It’s so quick and easy!

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Supplies needed to customize a photo holder with theme buttons:

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Directions to customize a photo holder with theme buttons:

Start by removing the shanks from buttons.

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If the theme button has layers, glue them back together with a dot of glue.

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Adhere the chosen buttons to the four sides of the photo clip cubes.

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The sunglasses are a fun moving element by just clipping one side of the button shank and snapping in on the wire .

customize a photo holder with theme buttons

Final step…add cute pictures of fun times!  This is a fast and easy way to customize a photo holder with theme buttons.  Less than a half an hour including dry time and you have a great project.

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Make a money tree – Easy DIY STYROFOAM Christmas craft with buttons

By on August 27, 2012 in Christmas, Kids Crafts, Occasions

Money doesn’t grow on trees!!!….or does it?  Check out this fun and easy way to give a money tree gift in a creative way.

Today I am excited to use a Styrofoam plus BUTTONS from Buttons Galore!  Check out the supplies…

Materials to make a money tree:

Directions to make a money tree:

Begin by wrapping your cone in bills and securing the corners with sequin pins.  Once you have all of the foam covered you can embellish to your heart’s content with buttons, colorful seamstress pins, tinsel chenille and more!  Important to note that non of the items were adhered with adhesive because in the end this money tree is meant to be harvested so make it easy for the recipient to wrap and just use pins.

I love the glow on the “lights”!

Thanks for joining me today! I hope you will make a money tree for your next gift.  No matter if it is a Christmas money tree, birthday money tree or a graduation money tree, the recipient will surely love a tree made of money.  I know I would.

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DIY crepe paper flowers with Stickles glitter

By on August 9, 2012 in Paper Crafts

Pretty Crepe Paper Flowers

Who says that crepe paper is for parties only?  Not me.  Crepe paper flowers made out of party streamers are so pretty and super easy to make!   The flowers are a great way to use up the left overs after the party.  Flowers brighten a room any time of the year.  Crepe paper flowers can be used for almost anything and crepe paper comes in a wide variety of colors.  You can make one as an accent for a decoration, as a topper on a bag or to wear in your hair.  Make a whole bouquet of crepe paper flowers for those days when fresh flowers are not available.

Supplies to make crepe paper flowers:

These pretty crepe paper flowers are easily finished by using big designer brads from Buttons Galore and More.  The brads are available in many colors sizes and textures.  They have metal brads too.

See how simple the crepe paper flowers are to assemble…

Accordion fold a streamer for several layers stacked on top of each other.   Freehand cut a petal shape and keep them in a stack.  Micro tipped scissors work great for this.

Punch a small hole using a hole punch through all of the petals and insert the brad.

Distribute the petals into an open flower shape and then open the prongs of the brad to fix them into place.

Wrap and shape petals around the cozy brad to give them a more realistic shape.

Leave petals plain or fancy them up with a bit of glitter glue like I did here.

Once the glitter dries, the fragile crepe paper flower petals have a gorgeous sparkle and shine.  I hope this inspires you to give it a try!

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Make a DIY Gift bag rosettes…

By on July 20, 2012 in Holidays, Mixed Media, Occasions

dress up that kraft bag with burlap and buttons!

I love the blank canvas of a brown kraft gift bag!  While keeping it simple is a great way to go with the brown bag, going a little fancy and fabulous is pretty fun too!  Follow me as I upcycle a brown gift bag by adding a fun handmade rosette to add a punch of color to this gift wrapping staple!

Nothing like the summer skies to inspire a bright pop of yellow and blue!  Today’s project uses the following supplies:

Let’s get started!

I began with a piece of burlap, approximately 5×10 inches.

Cut burlap with a metal ruler and rotary cutter into 1×5 inch strips.

Loop and glue strips of burlap around a scrap of paper that will serve as the base for our rosette.  Continue gluing and layering paper strip, doily, flowers, ric rac and buttons until you get a fun rosette that can be added to your brown bag like this….

Hello sunshine!  We just went from drab to fab with a very simple addition to this bag!

Thanks so much for joining me!  I hope you’ll try fancy-ing up your gift bags with burlap, buttons and other craft supplies!

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Handmade patriotic pins – Show your pride!

By on May 21, 2012 in Holidays, Jewelry, Wearable

Here in the U.S. we will be celebrating Memorial Day at the end of May.  We also celebrate Independance Day on the 4th of July.  Today I am sharing a simple way to show pride in your country with handmade lapel pins.

Gather a few simple supplies…

Supplies:

I  chose to decorate the stars in the value pack using dimensional paint from Jacquard.  Free handing dots and stripes is a breeze with the fine tip applicators on the bottles.  Let the dimensional paint dry completely before the lapel pin assembly steps.

Prep your ribbons by cutting at approximately 8 inches long.

Using a contrasting color of embroidery floss, sew the lapel pin together with the looped ribbon between the pin back and the embellished button.

Run a fine detail glue like Zip Dry along the edges of the cut ribbon to prevent fraying.

These are a snap!  Make a few and share them with your friends and family.  Not a lapel pin wearer?  I’ve pinned these on the side of canvas tote or they would look cute on a hat too.  Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great one!

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DIY A Simple spring tablescape with buttons

By on March 26, 2012 in Easter, Holidays, Occasions

Hello there!  Today I am bringing you a super simple tablescape idea for spring using buttons, ribbon and clear glass jars…a “button-scape” if you will!  I’m willing to bet we all have a hodge podge of glass containers around the house (mason jars are one of my favorites) along with small spring and Easter themed nic-nacs.  Why not pull them together and make them a cohesive tablescape with the unifying ingredients of buttons, jars and ribbon?

Materials from Buttons Galore and More:

Other items needed:

  • various glass containers/jars/vases
  • spring themed collectibles
  • silk floral picks
  • pink/white gingham ribbon

Are you ready for the super complicated directions????  Just kidding, this process is simple.

  1. Partially fill jars with a single color of pastel buttons
  2. Add a figurine to the jar on top of the buttons
  3. Tie a ribbon around the top of the glass jar
  4. Arrange in a pleasing way on your table or display area

Check out the various items I used in my tablescape…

I loved the glass domed effect of the jars on my little treasures and the buttons are just the perfect pretty stage to show them off with!

Thank you for hopping by my post today!  I hope it inspires you to put your buttons to work this spring!

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DIY Sweet Treat Notecards

By on March 16, 2012 in Card Making, Occasions, Paper Crafts

Sweet treats and tea time come to mind today with this mini notecard set that highlights some adorable themed buttons from Buttons Galore and More!  Perfect for quick birthday notecards, party invitations or a great giftable set for the sweet tooth in your friendship circle!  A few simple ingredients and you have the makings for a sweet greeting!

Buttons Galore and More Product:

With a few simple products from Buttons Galore and More and some other card making items, I was on my way to a stack of cute notecards.

I first paired up my buttons in the Sweet Delights Collection with some stamps that had frame options as well as sentiments if I should choose to add a simple sentiment to the inside of the card.

I stamped out eight frames with chocolate ink on white cardstock and then paired up the buttons with the frames that fit each one the best.

These are “shank” buttons, meaning there is a small loop at the back of the button for sewing/tying onto your project.  In this case, I was going to need a flat back to my buttons so a simple clip of the shank with a pair of pliers was all that was needed.

First a clip just to remove a portion of the shank….

After that first clip, the button layers come apart and you can trim the shank even shorter so it will be flush with the back once reassembled.

Before re-assembling the button layers, apply a bit of craft glue to make the layers stick.

Re-assemble and pinch together so the liquid glue adheres well.

Once all of the buttons are prepared and the stamped frames are trimmed from the cardstock, adhere the buttons to the frames and start matching them with various colorful scrapbooking papers…scraps will work fine.  My papers range in size but are around 3″x4″ each, give or take a slice of the paper trimmer.

I decided these needed some ribbon and pearl pretties.  Tie small satin bows, one for each card and apply a Classic Circle.

Each classic circle has a touch of liquid adhesive on the back and is placed upon the knot of the bow.

Small paper doilies from the bakery section of the craft store have been cut in half to help set a backdrop for the treat-adorned frames.

Anyone hungry for dessert now!???  Thanks so much for checking out my sweet treat notecard idea!

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Celebrate Your Unique Wedding with a Handmade Button Boutonniere

By on February 8, 2012 in Wearable
Handmade Button Boutonniere

Handmade Button Boutonniere

 

Hello!  It’s my distinct honor to be writing up my first post here at Buttons Galore and More!  I am also so excited about sharing a creative way to make a one of a kind boutonniere that will definitely stand up to the activity of the wedding day…all the way from getting ready in the morning to the ceremony to the dancing and celebrating into the night and beyond!  A button boutonniere can be made as unique as the person who will wear it!

 

Celebrate your unique love with a button boutonniere

 

Supplies:

  • mix of buttons like those in Button Bonanza White
  • ribbon (check out Black/White Striped Grosgrain  or a beautiful satin ribbon)
  • craft wire
  • florist’s tape
  • pearl-topped corsage pins
  • wire cutters
  • floral leaf picks

Celebrate your unique love with a button boutonniere

 

Begin by threading a stack of buttons of increasing size onto the craft wire(cut to 10-12 inches in length), smallest buttons first down to the largest in your selection.  Twist the wire at the bottom of the stack tightly to secure the stack.  I used different amounts and heights of buttons to make each stack a slightly different height when finished.

 

Celebrate your unique love with a button boutonniere

 

Twist wrap the florists tape around the wire stem approximately half way down the wire.

 

Celebrate your unique love with a button boutonniere

 

Add floral leaf picks or other decorative items the same way by wrapping the bundle with florist tape to approximately the mid-point.

 

Celebrate your unique love with a button boutonniere

 

Once you have all three button flowers and leaf stems individually wrapped, group them in a pleasing way as one bouquet and twist the wire stems together.  Wrap the whole stem from base of the bouquet to the tip of the wire with white florist’s tape.

 

Celebrate your unique love with a button boutonniere

 

Once the wrap is in place, use your fingers to corkscrew the bottom tail of the boutonniere.  You can also arrange and shape the leaves and button flowers since they are wired which makes this boutonniere extra friendly to design!

 

Celebrate your unique love with a button boutonniere

 

Add a bit of ribbon and corsage pins so this boutonniere is ready for the big day!

 

Celebrate your unique love with a button boutonniere

 

Ta da!  That’s it!  The great thing about button floral designs are that they can be done way in advance and will still look perfect on the big day.  Not to mention, the cost on these per boutonniere are pennies compared to their fresh flower counterparts.  These can also be easily translated into other holidays or get-togethers and customized with pretty vibrant colored buttons, ribbons and other trims.  Add an elastic wrist strap to the back and this is a wrist corsage too.  Got creative teenagers in your life?  Gather the kids for a button corsage/boutonniere making day and they’ll be the newest smash hit since duct tape prom dresses!  The sky is the limit and Buttons Galore and More has you covered with beautiful buttons and trims to make your day extra special!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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