ButtonMakers.net Supports Let Live

ButtonMakers.net
a Proud Supporter of 2010 Let Live Conference

ButtonMakers.net sponsored the Let Live Conference in Portland this year. An amazing time was had by all.

We brought 3 button machines, some pre-cut circles that say "stay inside the line", and plenty of art supplies and just let the attendees go crazy designing and pressing their own buttons.

You can download the DIY button sheets we made here:
1-1/4 inch
2-1/4 inch
3-1/2 inch

More fun with fabric buttons

More Fun with Fabric!

But first.... awesome button board stuff:

Since we opened an actual brick and mortar store (in Seattle's historic Georgetown neighborhood!) I've had to think of ways to decorate it. I had to come up with a way of displaying buttons. I quickly learned that old photo frame + foamcore + canvas = AWESOME Button Board!

I just covered a piece of foamcore with canvas. Then I used the canvas covered foamcore to replace the glass in a crappy old frame. I just bent the pin on the back of the buttons to a 90 degree angle and stuck it in.

Okay... on to the fun with fabric. Please see this post first, if you are not familiar with fabric buttons.

I went to Pacific Fabric Outlet and bought a bunch of fat quarters, which are basically just small squares of fabric. On Friday it's buy three get one free :) So I picked up a bunch of cute prints and I got out 5 different button machines to make this board. I used 1, 1-1/2, 2-1/4, 3 and 3-1/2 inch machines. If these sizes seem familiar it's because those are the sizes that are preset on the Adjustable Rotary Cutter, which I have decided is the ONLY WAY TO CUT CIRCLES FOR MAKING FABRIC BUTTONS. Alright, it's not the only way, you could use scissors also (I do not recommend the graphic punch, see this post if you're thinking about trying it.)

I started noticing this time that the more perfect my circles were, the better my buttons turned out. When my fabric circles were a little off, I had a much higher failure rate and more escaped edges (keep reading for a description of escaped edges).

For all of the fabric pictured here, fuzzy leopard print excluded, I had to use 2 layers of fabric to get the buttons to crimp properly. The fuzzy leopard print was thick enough to work flawlessly every time. I had about a 10% failure rate with all the other fabrics, even with the multiple layers. By failure, I mean that the fabric didn't crimp at all or tore in the machine.

A lot of the times with the double layer standard cotton fabrics, I had small area of fabric that was pinched in between the shell and the backing, but folded backwards, and didn't crimp all the way under the backing. I refer to this problem as escaped edges. I did not consider buttons with escaped edges as failures. I just trimmed them down and called it good. It's such a tiny little piece that is hardly noticeable at all on the back of the button. If escaped edges is a big problem for you, I would recommend having your machine adjusted for fabric. Sometimes if you cut the escaped edge too close to the button, it becomes un-pinched and therefore ruins the button. So be careful when trimming escaped edges!


I pressed out 58 buttons in all, had 5 that were completely unusable, 12 with escaped edges that I trimmed off and used anyway, and 41 totally perfect fabric buttons. I noticed that my model 225 had a better success rate than my other machines. It didn't seem to matter if I used a fabric or a paper base layer. It really depends on the fabric you're using and how smooth the inside of the dies on your particular machine are. Sometimes, like with the fuzzy leopard print, you just find the magical combination and it works every time. Other times, like with the cotton pink skull fabric, it just doesn't work as consistently and you have to keep trying.

Good luck with your projects and please feel free to comment here with any advice or new ideas!

Bottle Opener Magnets

NOTICE: Bottle Opener Magnets are just some craziness I thought up during a moment of sheer craftopia. ButtonMakers.net does not sell "bottle opener magnet" sets, nor will they assist you in making them. But if you've got a little bit of craftiness in you, this is a pretty cool project.

There I was, pressing out my awesome straight edge root beer bottle openers, when I thought: "Who the heck wants to carry around a clunky 2-1/4 inch keychain anyway? Magnetic bottle openers would make a lot more sense." So I grabbed a 1-7/8 inch adhesive magnet from the 2-1/4 inch magnet sets and the 2-1/4 inch bottle opener sets and got to experimenting.

Turns out, my idea worked on the first try. I had to use thin office paper for it to work. The magnet isn't strong enough to hold to the fridge using thick photo paper.

Here's what I did:

1. I designed my logo with the 1-7/8 inch magnet bulge in mind. (If you don't do this, it looks a little unintentionally weird.) I used the 2-1/4 inch Photoshop design template only I made a perfect 1-7/8 inch circle in the middle. In this case it's yellow around the edges with a black 1-7/8th inch circle in the middle and my little agro-anti-alcohol design in the middle of that. (the graphic faces the fridge, so it's just a little coy reminder when someone goes to open a bottle. tee hee.)


2. Print and cut out the graphic, and get everything you need together. That includes the model 225 button machine, bottle opener sets, and a 1-7/8 inch adhesive magnet from the 2-1/4 complete magnet sets.








3. Remove the backing from the adhesive magnet and stick it to the shell. It has to be dead centered and stuck to the smooth outer side.







4. Load the machine. The Shell with the Magnet stuck to it goes into the Pick-Up die (the one with the deep-groove). The graphic goes on top of the Magnet and the mylar goes on top of that.







5. Rotate the die table around so that the Crimp die is facing you and load in the bottle opener back face down as shown.







6. Pull the handle toward you and press all the way down. Rotate the die table around the other way and pull the handle again.


7. Remove the magnet bottle opener from the machine and stick it to the fridge! : )








As you can see from the photo above, there's an odd bulge in the middle where the magnet is. But if you design with that in mind, it doesn't look half bad. Anyway, it's a small compromise for a bottle opener that sticks to the refrigerator!!!

Kids Make Buttons at the Carnival!

The 2nd annual Georgetown ol Skool Carnival was a rootin tootin good time in the heart of Seattle's oldest neighborhood. ButtonMakers, one of the offical sponsors, set up a booth right outside our store on the main drag in Georgetown. Our booth attracted kids and adults alike to come, grab a crayon or a marker and crank out their very own personalized buttons! It was a total blast. We were so busy, I scarcely had a moment to take photos.

We made a whole bunch of blank pre-cut circles ahead of time. We did some with fill in the blank style messages like "I heart_____" or "Kiss me I'm______". We also had a book of quotes, a couple dictionaries and some funky old vintage magazines I picked up from the thrift store for people to cut up and buttonize. But mostly people enjoyed making their own creations from scratch.



This was a very successful event for us. Not only did it raise money for a good cause, it got us in touch with a bunch of button-happy neighbors we didn't even know we had!

I'd highly recommend this approach to anyone doing kids parties, events, or street fairs of this kind. It's a cool alternative or addition to photo button booth at the fair. Plus watching little kids press buttons is completely the cutest thing you'll ever see!

fabric butons

Fabric Buttons !!!

All of the button machines from button makers .net can be adjusted to make buttons from fabric as well as paper! I've tried this with all sorts of different fabric and have had the best luck with thicker, less stretchy fabrics such as canvas.


If you want to use thinner fabric, you'll need to add a couple layers to add thickness. You might think about using a layer of canvas with something very thin on the top. Otherwise the fabric will tear in the machine. You can also use thin fabric with mylar on top. That works really well. But I think it sort of defeats the purpose of using fabric. I like the texture most. I worked with one customer who makes the cutest mirrors using nifty printed fabrics. She chose to use mylar on top because it protects the fabric from getting dirty. For her project it was all about the print, and not so much about the texture.

Making fabric buttons with mylar is easy. It's just like making buttons with paper. It's the fabric buttons without mylar that give people the most trouble. So for this tutorial we're casting off the mylar and doing fabric only!!




For this project I'm making multiple size buttons with red canvas. I have a skirt that is missing buttons, so I'm going to replace those with pin-back fabric ones. Then for fun, I'll be making some big ones for decorations.

First we have to tackle circle cutting. There are many ways to go about this. The least expensive and most time consuming method is of course cutting by hand with a pair of scissors. This is a totally fine way to go, except if your cuts aren't exactly perfect circles, you'll have a lot of excess fabric to trim off the finished button. Which, actually, you'll have some excess fabric to trim no matter what.

The next option is the Graphic Punch, which is what many people start out with and already have for paper buttons. This is really not a good option for fabric though. It's really hard to get the fabric through the plates (though I try with all my might as you will see below) and then the cuts aren't great. It's not easy to use with fabric.

My personal favorite choice for cutting fabric is the Adjustable Rotary Cutter. It was super easy with the canvas, but with more delicate fabrics, you might have to spray a little adhesive down to your work station to prevent the fabric from moving and bunching. Or you may have to resort back to hand cutting. But again, the canvas was problem free with the rotary cutter.

So, now that you've decided which method you will use for cutting circles, it's time to get all of your supplies together.

Pictured here I have everything I'll need to make 1 inch fabric buttons, including the skirt that I'll attach them to.

• A model 100 Button Maker
• A model 1313 Graphic Punch
• 1 inch button sets
• Red Canvas
• Scissors
• Cuticle Scissors or Toenail Clippers (which actually work better than Cuticle Scissors) for cutting the excess fabric from the finished button
• Packing Tape
• A Skirt in need of new buttons

1. In order to actually get this piece of canvas through the plates of the graphic punch, I'm applying a strip of tape to the end. That will fit through the plates and allow me to pull the canvas through without it getting all bunched up.

I actually had a hard time with this. I was able to do it ok with the model 1313, but as you will see later, I gave up and switched to the rotary cutter for the larger sizes. This method would probably work fine with thinner fabric.

So I basically made a tail of tape. I applied a layer of tape to both sides, made it as flat and bubble free as possible, and cut off any exposed stickiness.

The fabric now has a tail of tape that will fit through the punch and allow you to pull it through and cut circles.


2. Cut out all of your circles and remove any tape left on the cut circles. I found it easiest to take a blade from an olfa or similar knife and pry the tape up. Fingernails probably work too : )





3. Next, press your button. Load the shell (smooth side up) into the take up die (the one on springs) and place your fabric on top of it. If you're using mylar place the mylar on top of the fabric. We're not using mylar in this example.

Press your button like normal. Click here for basic button making instructions.


4. Next we need to cut off the excess fabric. Sometimes, if your circles are really perfect, and you're really lucky, you won't even have any excess fabric to cut off. But usually you will and in that case, toenail clippers work really well. They're curved so they hug the contours of the button amazingly well. I couldn't find mine, so I'm using cuticle scissors instead.

5. Finally, insert the lock pin into the back of the button. Now we're ready to attach it to our skirt!!

But first, I'm going to make some 2-1/4 and 3-1/2 inch buttons for added decoration.





For the 3-1/2 inch buttons, I tried and tried and tried to use the tape method to get fabric through the the model 4000 graphic punch. But it just didn't work. The fabric was too thick to fit in between the cutting plates. So, I switched to the adjustable rotary cutter. It worked way better.

Next load all the materials into the machine and press the button as usual. Then cut off the excess fabric.








Now it's time to decorate the skirt! First I replaced the missing buttons with my 1 inch fabric buttons. I had to enlarge the button holes a little bit too.

Then I added the 2-1/4 inch buttons to the faux pockets and lined the hem with 3-1/2 inch buttons for a whimsical fun fabric button skirt! Then I made little matching cuffs from sweat bands and 1 inch buttons.

I reused some of the buttons from this skirt and put them on the vintage dress pictured at the beginning of this tutorial. Functional fabric buttons are great if for no other reason then you can swap and replace them to fit any style!!

Kids Chore Chart with Magnets!!

Need a creative way to keep chores organized
and inspire kids to clean??

Well bust out those button makers mom's and dad's
we've got just the project for you!!!

This ButtonMakers blog entry includes:

• A free kids chore chart in PDF format
• A page of magnet designs (included in PDF above) for the Model 100 Button Maker
  
• An example and instructions for how to make your own!
  

This cute and crafty kids chore chart is just the thing to get your kids cleaning and keep your sanity too. I actually don't have any kids, but in making this chore chart for the button blog, I discovered something amazing. This thing actually works! It's got myself and my partner keeping up with dishes and laundry like never before! It is great! I like this idea so much that I made a special chore chart just for the two of us.



Here's the idea:

1. Make a bunch of 1 inch magnets for each member of your family. Page two of the chore chart includes printable magnet designs. Click here for additional magnet making instructions.
2. Print out the chore chart or make your own.
3. Laminate the chart or use a transparency over it (to make it into a dry erase board too!) and stick it to the fridge.
4. Each week, delegate the chores by putting each family members magnet on their chore for the corresponding day.
5. When the chore is completed, you get a little sense of accomplishment when you move your magnet to the All Done! section.
   

This is what I did for my family:

I came up with a chart that shows the days of the week going across the top and the chores that are specific to my household down the side. Then I found the cutest retro font I could find and cute clip art to decorate it.

Then I stuck a transparency on top of it. So now, not only is it the coolest most super awesome magnetic chore chart ever, it is also a DIY dry erase board!! In my example I used an 11x17 layout because I just so happen to have a bunch of 11x17 paper and transparencies laying around. I made blue and pink buttons with our individual names for my partner and I.

The downloadable PDF chore chart is 8.5x11 vertical to be easily printed by most people. In addition to the listed chores (dishes, sweep, mop, garbage, vacuum, bathroom, and laundry) there are two blank sections so you can write in your own. You can print the magnet designs I included if you want, or you can make your own to suit your families needs. You could even switch the chart around by including the days of the week at the top, the family member names down the side, and then make different magnets for all the different chores. That way you could throw spring cleaning or some other not-so-regular household duties in there once in a while.

The possibilities are endless!!

I'd love to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment if you like these ideas : )

Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments!!!

You can use any of the button machines from ButtonMakers.net to make Christmas ornaments for your tree this season. It's so easy, and there are so many different ways to go about it.


You can make photo ornaments for your family, or custom gifts for special loved ones. You can make them big or small. Attach 100's of little 1 inch buttons to a ribbon to drape on the tree. Or just unpin the back and fashion it into a hook!! Use the welded eye to loop a hook through. Or just tie some gold string on to the back of a finished button.

There are so many cool things you can do with your button maker this holiday season!

I decorated my mini tree (pictured above) with 1 inch buttons. I printed these designs on inkjet transparencies and pressed out the buttons like normal. Then I either attached gold wire to the back or just pinned them on!! So Cute!!!

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see step by step pictures for making Christmas ornaments with a 3-1/2 inch buttons.


Here's what you'll need:

- A Button Machine from Button Makers .net any size will do

- Complete button making supplies. That includes shells, mylar, and pinned backs (or collets and lock pins if you're using 1 inch).

- Welded Eyes (this is optional since you could easily attach the string or hook to the pinned back. I think the eye looks a little nicer so for this example, I'm using the welded eye.)

- A circular cut graphic

- String, Ribbon, or Ornament Hooks for hanging

- Scissors for the string or ribbon


1. Get everything together.

2. Remove the pin from the back (unless you didn't get welded eyes, then just leave it alone).

3. Insert the back into the crimp die (the one without visible springs) and make sure one of the holes is centered at the top. (ignore the other hole). If you're not using welded eyes, center the with the clasp side at the top, so when you fashion your string or hook onto it, it will hang straight.

4. Place the shell in the pickup die. Place the graphic on top of the shell, and the mylar on top of the graphic.

5. Rotate the pickup die under the upper die and pull the handle. Rotate the crimp die under the upper die and pull again. Just like normal.

6. Remove the ornament from the machine.

7. Cut a piece of string and loop it through the hole. In this example I'm using elastic gold thread I got from a craft store for $1.

8. Tie on a ribbon or any other decorations and put it on your tree!!!

Make Your Own Mirrors - Tecre Model 300, 350

The 2-1/4, 3 inch and 3-1/2 inch machines from ButtonMakers.net can be used to make mirrors as well as buttons!! These are really cool. They make great gifts or novelty items for retail. It's so easy. In this example, I'm using the Model 350 machine.

Here's what you need:

- A Model 350, 350P, 300, 300P, or 225 Button Maker from ButtonMakers.net

- Complete 3 inch or 3-1/2 inch Mirror Sets (This includes shells, mylar, collets, mirror backs, and shims)
- A circular cut graphic


1. Get everything together in one place

2. Place the shell In the pickup die (the one with visible springs). Place the graphic on top of the shell, and the mylar on top of the graphic.

3. Place the collet into the crimp die, flat side down sharp side up. Place the mirror in the center of the collet reflective side down.

4. Bend the shim as shown in the photo below.

5. Place the shim on the back of the mirror. Make sure it is as centered as humanly possible, this is very important. Also make sure that it is not sticking up to far as to be moved out of place when underneath the upper die. Again make sure the shim is centered!

6. Rotate the pickup die underneath the upper die and pull the handle all the way down.

7. Rotate the crimp die underneath the upper die, and make sure the shim is still centered! Pull the handle all the way down again.

8. That's it!! now just remove the mirror from the machine, and put on your lipstick! : )


If you have any trouble with the mirror not crimping together (coming out of the machine in pieces instead of whole) it's because the shim wasn't centered. Make sure the shim is centered and doesn't get bumped off center by the upper die.