Recently, I went through my scrapbook room and purged some supplies. Now here is the thing, I don’t actually get rid of the stuff, it just gets kicked out of my scrap room and stored elsewhere until I can figure out what to do with it. This was the fate for the majority of my buttons until I discovered a button tree. I knew immediately that my buttons would be rescued for a similar project.
My idea was adapted from this amazing tree by “Lil Fish Studios.” Here is her beautiful tree. Look closely, there is a hidden message among the leaves.
I started by painting a piece of canvas using a technique I learned from Donna Downey in her “Fun with Fabric” class at Big Picture Classes. I went from a piece of blank canvas to a beautiful sky and grass scene. Painting the canvas was so easy (and fun). I will definitely incorporate more of this in future projects.
After the canvas was dry I ironed it to remove the wrinkles. In hind sight, I should have ironed out the wrinkles before painting, because the folds and creases tend to absorb more paint. Next, I removed a print from a square frame, glued the canvas to a piece of cardboard and placed it in the frame, omitting the glass. I sorted my buttons by color, selecting the orange, red and yellow ones for a fall tree and some brown for the trunk. I laid them out on the canvas and adhered them with fabric glue. Within an hour, it was dry and ready to hang on the wall.
I was surprised at how easy this project was to complete. Other than drying time for the painted canvas, I was able to complete this project from start to finish in one evening. I liked this so much I am planning to do a Christmas tree for my holiday décor and possibly a heart for Valentine’s, and I LOVE that I am using up some of my neglected supplies.
If you have a huge stash of buttons I challenge you to get them out and use them for your home décor. I would love to see what you come up with if you give it a try.
