Dichroic Glass Buttons

I am very excited about my new dichroic glass buttons.  To make a long story short, I found out my husband had purchased a drill press several years ago (which I never knew we had).  I purchased some diamond drill bits and learned how to operate the drill press.  In just a few minutes I had created my first button out of one of my dichroic glass cabs. 

After drilling the holes I had to put the button in the kiln again to round out the holes.  After this first success, I was excited to make more.  Here are two of the next ones I made.

Rosita Pisarchick bought two of my buttons and created this beautiful bracelet that she called "Peacock Struttin it's Stuff" using one of my buttons for the closure.  I'm lovin' it!

Rosita has several shops on Etsy. She sells her beautiful beadwoven jewelry in her CrownRoseGems shop. She sells vintage and antique buttons in her ButtonStash shop.  She sells Jacquard and woven trims in her Trim Goddess and Trim Goddess2 shops.  She is one busy lady keeping up all those shops!

 

It's always an honor to see my work displayed on someone else's creation.  It motivates me to make more buttons (which I have done).  Here's a couple more that I'm getting ready to list in my Etsy shop.

I think there should be a National Button Day!  What do you think?

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

We've all heard the old saying, "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained." Today, I'm repeating it to myself because I have scary butterflies in my stomach about a new line of jewelry I'm determined to pursue.

While I'm scared, I'm also excited. Why? My mother taught me to sew at a young age. First, I learned to sew hems with a needle and thread. Then Mom was actually brave enough to set me in front of a sewing machine. I fell in love with needles and thread, fabrics and scissors way back then and while I put this love on the back burner for several years, it's been poking my conscious mind for quite a while now and finally I am listening.

My sister from South Dakota makes beautiful quilts. While visiting my family there recently I went with her to her quilt group and a fellow quilter had some beautiful batik fabrics for sale. Well, how could I resist? She also gave away some awesome quilting magazines where I saw true art created from fabric, beads and buttons. My imagination took over and the next thing I knew I was designing jewelry made from fabric, beads and buttons!

Here is the first fabric cuff I've created. I call it Nostalgia. Not only has it brought back so many fond memories, it's inspired me to get out the sewing machine once again. I hope it's the first of many new fabric creations. My sister gave me the beautiful vintage button.




So I've come full circle (funny how that happens in life)! To be able to create with fabric, beads and buttons - it doesn't get much better than that. I'm so thankful for the gifts God has given me and for the ability and opportunity to use them!

Remember the Buttons?

I previously blogged about some Czech glass buttons I had purchased from CrazyCakes on Etsy and how I planned on using them in some of my beadwoven jewelry. Remember these?


I finally finished my first piece. I called it "Inspiration" because I was so inspired by the button. Just looking at those buttons and holding them in my hand causes my heart to beat faster and my mind to begin dreaming!

Since "Inspiration" began life as a button and I wanted to transform it into a pendant, I had to deal with the metal button shank on the back. I weighed the pros and cons and finally decided to cut off the shank and file down the metal ends. It worked fine, but I still wasn't happy with the look, so I thought I should cover it somehow.

I began by using peyote stitch to create a bezel around the 1 1/2" button. I used Japanese size 11 seed beads reducing to size 15 rocailles to accomplish this. After I had finished the bezel, the idea came to create a circular peyote triangle to fit inside the bezel circle on the back. I used the same size 11 seed beads as in the bezel and voila! I attached the triangle to the bezel with some Czech fire polished 3mm glass faceted beads.


Next I had to create the bail. I used odd count peyote and the same beads I had used in the bail and the triangle and created a simple round bail to fit over the rope chain.

I created the rope using spiral herringbone and the tiniest of tiny size 15 rocaille seed beads in three different colors that matched the bezel and bail. To finish it off, I created a peyote stitched toggle clasp.

I'm pleased with the results and I hope this button brings inspiration to you as well.

Don't forget to visit CrazyCake's Etsy shop to see more of these amazing Czech glass buttons. And stay tuned for more inspiration!