Buttons, Buttons Everywhere!

Hi everyone, my name is Kathy and for my first post I’m going to show you how to make your own buttons out of an old childhood favorite, ShrinkyDinks!!  This is a great project to do when you want that perfect embellishment to finish your project. 

First you’ll need to gather your supplies.  You’ll need shrink film, shape punches (should be at least 1” in size), markers, colored pencils, hole punch and your oven. 

Step 1

Cut shapes from your shrink wrap using your shape makers, or you can also use a die cutting machine.  Make sure the shapes are not too small, remember, they shrink when cooked. 

Step 2

Color the rough side of your shapes using markers or colored pencils.  You can stamp images on your shape as well.  Don’t get too detailed, remember everything will be smaller when you’re done.

 

Step 3

Using your hole punch, punch the button holes.  Make sure you do this before baking, otherwise you won’t have a button, you’ll have a cute plastic embellishment!  Don’t make the holes too small, they shrink and you’ll have a hard time getting a needle and thread through them.  This step can be done before coloring as well.

Step 4

Place your completed shapes rough side (the colored side) up on a piece of foil on a cooking sheet.  Bake them according to the directions on your shrink film.  (My directions were 325ºF for 1-5 minutes)  DO NOT WALK AWAY!  Keep an eye on them, they cook fast.  They will curl up, don’t panic they do flatten out.  After they flatten, leave them in for 10 – 15 more seconds.  Remove the buttons & let them cool.

 

That’s it!  Now you have the perfect embellishments to complete your project!

 

Here’s one layout I created with some of my button creations.  It also includes papers from Scenic Route’s Liberty line.  Have fun making buttons and stop on over to our Gallery to share your creations.

Comments

[Aphra]

Wowee, Kathy, that's neat! I love how you made the circle out of the buttons.

[Frances]

What a great idea! Loving the red, white, and blue.

[Anita]

Just so darn cute Kathy. Great to be reminded of this technique. Awesome layout and they are so cute too.