Buttons and Bottle Caps

If you read my blog often, then you know I am addicted to buttons - I am constantly on the lookout for buttons - new or vintage or novelty...I don't discriminate! I have them in jars, tins, and boxes in my studio - and sometimes an entire project I work on is decided upon by a button that inspires me. So today's post should be no surprise to you - paperclips embellished with buttons...these work great as bookmarks - or for collecting papers - or attached to a card or tag - and you often see them in scrapbooking and altered art. They are beyond simple to make and can be embellished as much as you like - I did these rather simple, but you could add wool shapes or stack several buttons...even add ribbon or trim or small fabric yo-yos. I use a good, clear-drying glue and attach the paperclip to the button...then after it drys, I glue a small wool felt circle to the back to make it pretty and smooth - I have also been known to use a piece of white adhesive foam on the back. Most of the clips in the photo use buttons, but some are decorative brads I had in my embellishment box - I just removed the prongs and attached the paperclip and wool back (these are seen in the top right photo on the right side). Although I have various sizes and colors of paperclips on hand - the majority of these use a basic size #1 silver...and the three darker ones use a brass jumbo clip. I recently found some colorful BIG clips measuring about 3 3/4" - I picked up a couple packs thinking they will make great embellished bookmarks...I envision them with wool and fun ribbon tails.

I also made a couple more batches of my bottle cap magnets...I had found some wonderful adhesive tin pins at the scrapbook store that I fell in love with (aren't the bird and the goose adorable?!) - they fit perfectly in the bottle caps, so I attached them with Amazing GOOP craft adhesive and added a magnet to the back of each - super easy and super cute!

I've been running in a million different directions lately...trying to get new designs prepared, trying to make holiday gifts, along with managing my business and our household (and still nursing what is left of my cold/flu) - I have been a multitasking machine. The whole time I worked on the above projects, I had my sewing/embroidery machine working on embroidered snowflakes and had multiple household chores going on...it's been a little chaotic here trying to get my to-do list done...but each night, I have been stitching up a storm, working on new models for early 2012. "Friendship Blooms" is almost ready for a peek - it may be done tonight (if I work into the wee hours of the morning, like usual) - if not I hope to finish it up tomorrow...so be on the lookout for a sighting soon!