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!

1. Cat-  http://boobeads.blogspot.com/

2. Cindy- http://www.sweetbeadstudio.com/

3. Cory-  http://art-with-moxie.blogspot.com/

4. Cyndi- http://www.beading-arts.com/

5. Dita- http://www.alankarshilpa.blogspot.com/

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

7. Erin- http://treasures-found.blogspot.com/

8. Hope- http://craftyhope.blogspot.com/

9. Inca- http://zerenitydesign.blogspot.com/

10.Katrina- http://armyofsockmonsters.blogspot.com/

11. Krista- http://frenchelegantjewelry.blogspot.com/

12.Kristie- http://www.artisanclay.blogspot.com/

13. Linda D.- http://lutkaandco.com/

14. Linda L.-http://www.lindasbeadblog.com/

15.Lody- http://www.lodysbeadworks.blogspot.com/

16.Lori- http://www.lorianderson.blogspot.com/

17. Loretta- http://www.designsbyloretta.blogspot.com/

18.Malin- http://beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com/

19. Mary- http://mkaymac.blogspot.com/

20. Maryanne- http://zingalasworkshop.com/

21. Melinda- http://orrtec.blogspot.com/

22. Saskia- http://perlendistel.blogspot.com/

23. Shannon-http://www.formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com/

24. Shirley- http://beadsandbread.blogspot.com/

25. Stephanie- http://www.stringaholic.blogspot.com/

Hope you have fun checking out all the participants.  



Button Swap



I've never participated in an online swap before but I've always thought it would be fun.  When I found out that Michelle Mach was hosting a button swap on her blog I decided I would join in the fun.  I was paired up with Hope Smitherman who is a very talented artist from Alabama.  Hope and I discovered that we have a love of vintage, buttons and otherwise, in common. 

Well, the rules for the swap were simple, send your partner 3 buttons of any kind.  If one or more was special in any way, or vintage, all the better. Once the buttons were received the participants are to come up with a project using the buttons. It can be anything, from jewelry to home decor.  Of course this meant I had to spend an afternoon going through my extensive button collection!!  I know, it's a tough job, but what could I do!  After a great deal of dithering over which buttons I should send Hope, I finally was able to chose three that I thought she might like.  I was so preoccupied with choosing the buttons and deciding on a presentation that I forgot to take a picture of them!  But, I chose a  green dichroic glass button made by my friend Terrie Voigt, and two that I've had for a long time.  I don't know if they were both vintage, but one was a dark teal and the other was a gray MOP.  It was difficult to chose which buttons to send because I wanted them to be something Hope could, and would want, to use.  Well, I'm happy to say that she loved the buttons, which was such good news for me! 

Naturally, I wanted to create a fun presentation, so I used my favorite, a tag.  I attached the buttons to a small tag and attached that to a larger tag that I had distressed and embellished with sewing motif fabric and a paper flower with a button center!!!  Seriously, what else could I have used for a center.  I'm really sorry I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture of all this.  The finished presentation was pretty cool.  Of course, wait until you see what Hope sent me!!!

What I sent Hope pales in comparison to what she sent me!!!  I was just overwhelmed when I opened my package.  Not only by the presentation, but by the amount of buttons! 

Look at all that!  The three buttons in the middle front are the three for the swap.  But, all the rest are just Hope being incredibly generous.  She too spent a long time looking through her button stash and decided to share some of what she has with me.  I was amazed at the wonderfulness of it all!  And, if the amount isn't amazing enough, the presentation is incredible.  She created two tins to put the buttons in and a beautiful card, plus the tag for the original 3 buttons.



Here's a better picture of the tin the 3 buttons came in.  The other loose buttons came in a smaller tin embellished in the same way!  Then she sent two cards of buttons!

 



 I was so touched by her generosity.  And, the buttons she chose are all fabulous!  I just love them all.  Deciding what to make with them is now my problem!  I want to make some thing really cool so I can show off the buttons to best advantage.  I have a few ideas and I need to take some time to decide which one will work best.  But, I just love what I have to work with and it will be fun creating something special with these vintage beauties.

Well, thank you for stopping by.  Enjoy the day.  We're having some beautiful spring weather here, so I'll be in the garden today.  I hope you do something fun with your day, too.