Thursday, April 21, 2011

Button Swap Day!



Today is the day that we get to see what everyone who participated in Michelle Mach's button swap.  I've been really excited about this, since it's always so inspiring to see what everyone comes up with in a swap.  The pieces are all so different, but so inspiring! 


Anyway, the idea behind the button swap was the usual formula, Michelle took all the names of the people who signed up and paired them with other people.  You had to send your partner 3 buttons from your stash, so much the better if one or more were vintage or handmade.  Well, I was paired up with Hope of  Craftyhope.blogspot.com.  Well, I was overwhelmed when Hope's package arrived!  It was amazing!  She not only sent the 3 required buttons, which were fabulous, but she sent a whole stash of other buttons!  And, to make it better she made adorable tins and a card to go along with the buttons!!! 



Isn't that fantastic?!!  Well, I love the 3 buttons, especially the carved ivory flowers.  And the were all so vintage looking, that I decided I had to do something that played on the vintage feel of the buttons. So, I went back to my idea of using knitted wire in a mixed media design.  At a bead show I had gotten a new color of art wire, Rose Gold.  It's a lovely old-timey pink with a golden glow.  So, I thought this would be the perfect project to use it.  I knitted a cuff and decided a linen base would keep to the vintage look.  I was going to sew the wire to the linen and then the buttons on top of the wire, fringe the edges of the linen and sew snaps on as a closure.  That was the original plan.  But, as you can see below, that's not exactly how it ended up.





When I laid it all out, I thought the piece looked very flat and uninteresting.  Just layered, linen, wire, buttons, was terribly boring.  So, I took the wire and scrunched it up.  In doing so I creating a ridge which I then maniputlated some more to create little 'cups' to nestle the buttons into.  I loved the dimensional feel of the piece, and an added benefit was the wavy edge that resulted from scrunching the wire.  I knew I had something I liked a lot.  So, I proceeded as I had planned and sewed the wire to the linen and the buttons nestled in the wire.  Of course, my favorite button, the carved flowers, figured prominently, and another of the original 3, a fantastically shabby chic glass button.  But, I also used one from the extra stash Hope sent, the little pink with the flower and rhinestone center.  A pearl button that I had in my stash finished off the set.



I'm really pleased with the cuff.  I wore it yesterday and received compliments on it.   That was nice!  

This was a fun swap.  I love buttons and it allowed me to try another idea for knitted wire.  This cuff has generated another idea for a cuff with a summery seaside theme.   The swap also introduced me to Hope and her great work.  So, a win, win all around! 

Michelle is sponsoring a contest to coordinate with the Button Swap Reveal.  If you comment on all the participants blogs you'll be entered to win a button collection.  So, below you'll find the list of participants in the button swap.   Go check out what everyone did with their buttons and you may win some buttons, and everyone can use more buttons, can't they?  I don't think you can ever have too many!






6. Donna, Marti, and Michelle- http://www.michellemach.com/blog/





















Hope you have fun checking out all the participants.  








30 comments:

  1. Your lovely handmade cuff took my breath away! I'm not surprised that you received many comments on it.

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  2. Beautiful piece. I am sure someone will try to buy it right off your arm someday.
    Shannon C

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  3. That is SO beautiful, and so very fitting for the buttons you chose to use! And what a generous swap partner you had!

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  4. That is so beautiful. I love the vintage look/feel to it. What a great set of buttons and wonderful way to set them off.

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  5. Maryanne -
    I KNEW you would do something FABULOUS with those beads and you didn't disappoint! The whole piece is so full of vintage-feeling awesomeness. It's just breathtaking! I'm so glad you liked your beads as I really liked playing with mine. I've still got one left and am trying to decide what to do with it already!

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  6. Oh my, I love the buttons you got! I equally love what you did with them! The cuff is just gorgeous!

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  7. Your cuff is stunning! You really got some pretty buttons! Great job.

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  8. Oh my...what a lovely cuff you made. Great buttons, I love the wire work.

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  9. The carved flower button is da bomb! Love how you worked so many buttons into your cuff :-)

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  10. I love what you did with your buttons! Such a great vintage, mixed media look with the carved buttons, the wire and the linen. I don't think I've seen that rose gold wire yet--I'm going to have to buy some to play with. You've inspired me!

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  11. I love your cuff very shabby chic and fun! I can see it worn with so many different things. I never would have thought of it! Spectacular

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  12. Gosh, that is really, really cool! I haven't seen wire knitting like that before, and the linen really shows it of beautifully. You chose a perfect background for wonderful buttons!

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  13. Oh what gorgeous buttons you used and how clever to make a cuff. I bet it is fun to wear

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  14. Very pretty -- fits the vintage feeling of the buttons so beautifully!

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  15. Love this cuff, so romantic looking, great job!

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  16. The cuff is so pretty! I am sure you got compliments!

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  17. Pretty buttons! I love the way you used them - what a neat idea for a cuff. I love it!

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  18. Such a pretty cuff and so romantic looking!

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  19. What a lovely cuff. Very pretty!

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  20. Great pairing - very vintage! Nice!

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  21. Your colors really suit your buttons! Lucky you to get that great stash from hope :-)

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  22. Your cuff came out so pretty. I love to knit with wire too and the idea of using rose gold was great. Good job.- Dita.

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  23. So lovely love love your designs Be Blessed

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  24. I've never tried the knitted wire technique before. It looks so delicate and beautiful.

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  25. Very pretty and nice. I would love to see you wear it. I can imagine it looks good.

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  26. Thank you to everyone who commented on my bracelet. This swap was really fun and I loved using knitted wire in a new way. Thanks again.

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  27. ....soooo creative.. it looks amazing..
    mitz_zee@yahoodotcom

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  28. Such a lovely assortment of buttons! I love the cuff. It looks so lacy.
    Sorry I am late to the party. Last week was not a time to be hopping (unless you were a bunny! ;-). Thanks for sharing. Enjoy the day! Erin

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