Easy Button DIY Crafts – Small Things That Can Make a Big Difference

Easy Button DIY Crafts – Small Things That Can Make a Big Difference

Buttons are small, practical and often overlooked. Most of us see them as something that holds a shirt or sweater together. But take a closer look and you’ll discover that a button can be much more than a fastener.

Buttons come in an almost endless variety of colours, shapes, materials and sizes. There are wooden buttons, metal buttons, glass buttons, colourful plastic buttons, rhinestones, flowers, animals and all sorts of wonderfully unusual designs.

And that’s what makes them so much fun to craft with. Below are some Easy Button DIY Crafts for you to try.

All you need is Buttons and Imagination.

So before you put that jar of leftover buttons away and forget about it, take another look. You might already have the beginnings of your next project.

• See the YouTube Video links below, which contain interesting ideas and instructions on how to turn your spare buttons into works of art!

A Little Button History

• Buttons have been around for a surprisingly long time.
• Early examples were made from natural materials such as shell and bone, and some were decorative rather than functional. Over the centuries, buttons were made from wood, horn, metal, glass, ceramic and eventually plastics.
• As clothing styles changed, buttons changed with them. Elaborate buttons became fashionable on coats, uniforms and formal clothing, while simpler buttons became everyday necessities.
• Today, buttons can be wonderfully simple or incredibly decorative. That enormous variety is exactly what makes them such useful little craft supplies.

Buttons Aren’t Just for Clothes – Button Craft Ideas

• Of course, buttons are still perfect for clothing. They are used on shirts, jackets, sweaters, children’s clothing, costumes, bags and countless sewing projects.
• But once you start thinking of a button as a tiny decorative object rather than simply a fastener, the possibilities become much more interesting.
• A beautiful button can become jewellery, a greeting-card embellishment, part of a picture, a decoration for a wooden sign or the centre of a handmade flower.
• And you don’t always need a special button to get started. Some of the most interesting projects can come from the mismatched leftovers sitting at the bottom of a button jar.

Turn Buttons Into Jewellery

• Decorative buttons can make surprisingly lovely jewellery.
• Flat buttons with interesting designs can be turned into earrings, pendants, brooches or charms. Larger buttons can make particularly eye-catching pendants, while collections of smaller buttons can be combined to create something completely unique.
• Black and white buttons are especially versatile. Add a little gold or silver detailing and you can transform a simple button into something that looks surprisingly sophisticated.
• If a button has suitable holes, jewellery findings can sometimes be attached directly. Buttons can also be decorated before being turned into jewellery, giving you the opportunity to create something that is truly your own.
• If a button doesn’t have suitable holes and you are considering drilling it, use the proper equipment and eye protection, and have an adult handle power-tool work where appropriate.
• Another Idea: Why not glue a pretty button to the bottom of a glass pebble. See the description below:
  • Turn a pretty button into a charming pendant with almost no jewellery-making experience required! Glue your button to the flat side of a 1-inch clear glass pebble or cabochon using a good clear-drying craft adhesive. If your button has a shank on the back, simply leave it in place – the little space around the shank can actually be useful.
  • For the bail, forget about complicated metal findings. Cut a small piece of pretty ribbon, faux-suede cord, or thin leather cord, fold it into a loop, and glue the two ends to the back of the button. Once the adhesive has completely dried, slip a chain or cord through the loop. You now have a one-of-a-kind button pendant!
  • The same idea can be used for earrings, using smaller loops and earring hooks.

Paint Your Buttons with Acrylic Paint, Paint Pens or Permanent Markers

Plain buttons are tiny little canvases.

• Depending on the material and finish, you can use acrylic paint, paint pens or suitable permanent markers. Clean and dry the surface first, and remember that different materials may require different paints.
• You don’t need to be an artist. In fact, some of the nicest button designs are incredibly simple.
• Try dots, stripes, flowers, leaves, hearts or geometric patterns. A few carefully placed marks can completely change an ordinary button.
• And don’t worry about making everything perfectly symmetrical. A little handmade imperfection is part of the charm.

Add a Touch of Gold or Silver

• One of the easiest ways to give a painted button a more finished appearance is with a metallic outline.
• Paint the button in a solid colour, let it dry completely, and then add a fine gold or silver border with a suitable paint pen or marker.
• A black button with a delicate gold edge, for example, can look remarkably elegant.
• You can also use metallic details to add dots, lines, borders or small decorative elements to your design.
• Use some gold or silver glitter paints if you like.
• Add some gold or silver foil flakes. All you need is a bit of glue.

Try an Easy Button Mandala Technique

• Buttons are particularly well suited to mandala-style designs because you can build the pattern outward from the centre.
• Start with a central dot and gradually add circles of dots around it. Change the size of the dots and alternate colours as you work outward.
• You can keep the colour combination simple – black, white and gold, for example – or experiment with brighter combinations.
• The beauty of a mandala is that there isn’t one “right” design. You can keep adding details until you’re happy with the result.

Give Larger Buttons a Try

• Large buttons, including buttons around 2.5 inches, give you much more room to experiment.
• Instead of simply being part of another project, a large button can become the project itself.
• Think of it as a tiny blank canvas.
• You could paint a landscape, flowers, an abstract design or a seasonal picture. You could try a mandala, add decoupage, create a paint-pour design or simply decorate it with colours and patterns that you enjoy.
• Large buttons can also become decorative pendants, wall pieces, ornaments, magnets or other embellishments.

Decoupage Works Beautifully on Buttons

Paint isn’t the only way to decorate a button:

• Decorative paper, tissue paper, napkins and other lightweight printed designs can be used to create tiny decoupage pieces. A floral napkin, for example, can become the surface for a whole collection of matching buttons.
• Choose a button with enough surface area for your design, apply the decorative material carefully with a suitable decoupage medium and allow it to dry thoroughly.
• Once dry, you can add painted details, metallic accents, pearls or rhinestones.
• The result can be surprisingly delicate.

Easy Craft Ideas – Don’t Forget the Little Buttons – DIY Crafts with Buttons

• Small buttons may not give you much room to paint, but they are perfect for adding details to other crafts.
• A tiny button can become the centre of a flower, an eye, a berry or a decorative dot. Several small buttons can be arranged into petals, borders or patterns.
• Try adding them to greeting cards, scrapbook projects, picture frames, wooden signs or other decorations.
• Sometimes it’s the smallest details that make a project come alive.

Layer Buttons for a Whole New Look

• Here’s another wonderfully simple idea: put one button on top of another.
• A large plain button with a smaller decorative button in the centre can look completely different from either button on its own. Try combining different colours, materials and shapes until you find a combination you like.
• You can even arrange several buttons around a central button to create a flower.
• It’s simple, inexpensive and a great way to use buttons that don’t match.

A Few More Button Art Ideas

• Once you start looking at buttons as craft materials, you’ll probably start seeing possibilities everywhere.
• Decorated buttons can become refrigerator magnets, brooches, ornaments, gift tags, bookmarks, charms or additions to hair accessories. They can also be glued onto cards, picture frames, wreaths and other decorative projects.
• A large button can become the focal point of a project, while a handful of tiny buttons can provide all the little details.
• You don’t need a complicated idea. Sometimes one beautiful button is enough.

What About Those Leftover Buttons?

• This might be the best thing about crafting with buttons: they don’t have to match.
• In fact, mismatched buttons can be more interesting than a perfectly coordinated collection.
• Gather your leftovers and see what happens when you put different colours, sizes, shapes and materials together. A combination you never would have chosen deliberately might turn out to be your favourite.
• That jar of random buttons isn’t just a collection of leftovers; it’s a box of possibilities.

A Few Button-Crafting Tips

• Before starting a project, think about what the button is made from and how you plan to use it.
• Choose paint or markers suitable for the surface, and allow everything to dry or cure completely before handling or sealing. If you’re using a permanent, oil-based or solvent-based marker, test your chosen sealer on a spare button first, as some sealers can cause markers to smear or reactivate.
• For jewellery and other projects where buttons will be handled frequently, make sure everything is securely attached.
• And if a project involves drilling or other power tools, use appropriate safety equipment and have an adult handle the work where necessary.

Buttons: Little Pieces of Creativity

• Perhaps that’s what makes buttons so appealing:
  • They’re small enough to experiment with, inexpensive enough to play with and versatile enough to become almost anything.
  • A plain button can become a flower.
  • A painted button can become a pendant.
  • A handful of tiny buttons can become a picture.
  • A large button can become a miniature canvas.
  • And a jar of mismatched leftovers can become the starting point for something you never expected to make.

So next time you find yourself looking at a jar of buttons, don’t just see fasteners.

Keep Creating!

Ready to start your next creative project? Visit our Craft Store and discover a variety of unique stencils and fun craft accessories to help bring your ideas to life.

Looking for a little more inspiration? Take a look through our blog, where you’ll find more ideas, projects and creative inspiration to explore/

And if you love the idea of giving something handmade but don’t have the time to make it yourself, don’t worry! Our gifts collection has ready-to-give ideas for a variety of occasions.

Whether you’re in the mood to create something yourself or looking for a special gift, there’s always something fun to discover at The Craft Corner.

 

🎬 Watch & Create: Button Craft Videos

Want to see some of these ideas in action? I’ve gathered a selection of fun button-craft videos to inspire your next project. Click any title to watch the video on YouTube.

✨ Make Old Buttons Beautiful Again

Make Ugly Buttons Pretty
Give ordinary or unattractive buttons a creative makeover and see how a few simple techniques can transform them.

Don’t Toss Those Buttons
Before you throw those leftover buttons away, take a look at the creative possibilities!

Don’t Throw Away Old Buttons 50+ Amazing Designs
A wonderful collection of ideas showing just how much you can do with old buttons.

🎨 Painting, Dyeing & Decorating

DIY Painted Buttons
Explore simple ways to paint and customise buttons for your craft projects.

Button Painting Ideas
More colourful inspiration for turning plain buttons into little works of art.

Making Button Embellishments using Alcohol Inks, Dyeing Buttons
Experiment with colour and create beautifully altered buttons using alcohol inks and dyeing techniques.

🌸 Decoupage, Art & Home Décor

Decoupage Buttons
Turn ordinary buttons into pretty decorative pieces with decoupage.

Turn Buttons into Wall Art
See how buttons can become colourful and creative artwork for your home.

Easy Wood Decor with Buttons & Beads

Combine buttons and beads to create charming decorative pieces on wood.

🎄 Seasonal Button Crafts

Old Buttons into Holiday Crafts

Get inspired to turn your button collection into fun and festive holiday creations.

💡 Keep Those Buttons!

You don’t need expensive supplies to make something beautiful. A jar of leftover buttons can become jewellery, artwork, decorations, gifts and so much more.

Save those buttons – you never know what you might create with them!