General info & types
Shanks
& attachers
Holes, Stress
Washing
& drying, etc.
Misc. ideas, info
Websites
... many examples
BUTTONS
Buttons
are fun to make with polymer clay!
...They can be functional or
decorative... have shanks or have
holes ... be sewn or glued (for dec.ones), and be
any shape or use any polymer technique.
....Many knitters,
weavers and sewers like to make the buttons for their creations as
well, and they can be used decoratively on quilts or clothing as well.
...And
don't forget to make toggles for sweaters, jackets, totes/purses
with clay
...and can also use buttons for "learning toys" for kids
(like learning to button). Patty B.
...making items for cloth "books"
for kids
The stronger clays are
better for use as functional buttons (Premo, Kato Polyclay, FimoClassic, Cernit)
....Sculpey clay isn't good for making functional
buttons because they can break too easily (unless they're thick rounded balls)
... but Sculpey can be OK for making decorative buttons
though if they're not thin or ever stressed.
...the newest version
of FimoSoft is not as weak as Sculpey, but
still not as strong as FimoClassic, Premo, Kato or Cernit
For
added strength, I like to bake my buttons longer than the
minimum time
...so I bake 30 min at 275° (for Premo or the
Sculpeys) regardless of how thin the buttons are... and if more than 1/8"
thick, I usually bake even longer. Patty B.
...for baking longer,
especially for clays except Kato, may be best to use an enclosed or partly-enclosed
baking method so the colors won't darken (see Baking
> Darkening)
Old buttons or others
you find around the house (or at thrift stores, still on clothing) can be used
to make great molds too.
....those molds can then be used to
make buttons from clay
......(and also, casts from these molds can be used
in many other ways as decorative onlays on beads or vessels, etc.)
I
sometimes give my buttons a raised rim around the edge
by pressing a the flat end of a round rod (just smaller than the
diameter of the button) onto the center of each button (before punching out the
holes), so they resembled real buttons (these were tiny buttons I'd made for tiny
fabric vests)
...a fake rim could be created by pressing a tube
(slightly smaller than the button) on the button
.......or a domed
center could be created with the tube by placing a sheet of plastic wrap
over the button before impressing
cane
slices can make good buttons (or other small items) for use on
quilts or quilt blocks ...or on clothing
...for my quilt group's
annual Christmas quilt block exchange long ago, I once appliqued
(or maybe just used adhesive webbing since it was only for the wall?)
a large "pine tree" of green-on-green fabric, onto a background of two
joined fabrics (white for snow on the ground, and sky-with-stars above)
..........I
then attached about 20 quilt-theme cane slices
to the tree as "ornaments" ... think I put a short eye pin in the top
of each (somewhat thick) slice, or else I had put a hole in the top front of each,
then sewed it to the fabric so each would dangle a bit (...could have glued
them on instead, I suppose, especially if I'd used a strong white glue like one
for attaching jewels to fabric like Gem Tac, Jewel-It, etc.). .
..........I
also made these slices (or buttons could be used) into ornaments for a small
artificial xmas tree (to which I also added a tiny pearl garland). Diane
B
http://beadyeyedbrat.com/clayquilt.html
Therese
May uses lots of polymer slices & small beads (as
well as ordinary buttons) on her very heavily embellished wall
quilts
http://mayquilter.tripod.com/quiltsale.html
Missy's
tiny, sculpted or molded 3-D shapes made
as buttons, then attached to needlepoint scene... a Halloween tree...
(pumpkins, cat, witch, ghost, bat, spider)
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/miss_meme_30/detail?.dir=d8c9&.dnm=53bf.jpg
Joy's
online video lesson on making very simple clay buttons with some
impressions (then painting over with acrylics)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8gO8tjBqiD4
bicone
shapes can make good buttons too... and can range in size from large
to small
... bicones can also range in shape... from fairly flat
& wide (slightly domed, like a slightly pointy lentil) to
"tall" & slender (bulging in the middle), depending
on the technique used (... that last type would be good for toggle type
buttons)
...textured bicones (wide and slightly domed) can definitely
look like buttons... they can be used whole, or cut in half so the backs are flat
(....for info on making all these bicone types, see Beads
> Bead Rollers > Bicones using flat-surface roller)
some
of Mary W's drawer knobs look like buttons...rounded flattish balls, or flattened
bicones
...base clay is often caned, other surface pattern, or textured...
second and third gradually-smaller dimensional layer or shape on top (some
look like butttons)
...she also has a contrasting-color small clay rope
around the outside edge of some
http://www.merelyknew.com/engine/?a=show_item&id=1060035476
To
form a flattened dome shape for my buttons, I use two adjacent sized
circle cutters..... I cut out my "core" with the smaller one, then cut out
my surface design with the larger.... I lay the larger over the smaller, and press
down all around
...lentil halves... I made some lentil
shaped beads (and the halves were not going to fit right without a lot of sanding)
so instead I embellished the dome halves with flower canes
...for creating a shank on them, I've considered either gluing
a large shanked button on the back, or creating my own shank
but worried about how I can reinforce it. Hope
......for these I would suggest
using a plastic-coated paper clip.. cut off a U shape and stick that into a half
ball of raw clay that you have pushed into the back of the dome ... coat the inside
of the dome with a slight smear of liquid clay to help the baked and raw pieces
adhere well ...bake. Patty B.
polymer
fauxs of all kinds can be fun for buttons too ... faux jade, ivory,
turquoise, coral, wood, metal, etc, for example .... many natural materials
can be simulated with polymer clay
... embossing powder inclusions in
translucent clay used for (roughly shaped) buttons
http://b-muse.com/Technique-PolymerClay-EP.HTM
"carved"
shell buttons.... You can carve, stamp or texture into pearly-white
shell clay (created with one of the opal, quartz, or abalone,
etc., recipes on the Faux-Many
page)
. . . if the resulting low lying areas are antiqued
or back-filled with white Rub 'N Buff, white acrylic paint, Diluent-thinned
white clay, or even white Pearl Ex or Fimo Pulver in liquid clay or a finish like
Varathane, it will resemble carved shell buttons, etc.
texturing, or texturing then highlighting or antiquing are popular too
Buttons can be formed on top of those metal button forms that are normally covered with fabric, that way the shank is already there.
You
can also buy special button shanks:
... the metal shanks from
Fire Mtn. are easily buried in the clay before baking, and provide a nice
smooth back which is quite strong with a low profile (they could also be glued
on after baking with a strong glue, but since I tell people they can launder
and machine dry my buttons, I prefer to embed. Patty B.
.....Fire Mountain
Gems... is another place to get metal button backs in two sizes
( 6 and 10 mm)...good quality and price
.......product codes: 63-7823FN 6mm
gold-plated pkg 100 $2.59, 63-7825FN 10mm gold-plated pkg 100 $3.84.
.......for silver plated: 63-7842FN 6mm pkg. 100 for $2.00,
63-7826FN $2.80 for 100. Patty B.
.....Rio Grande (has them http://www.riogrande.com/Products)
... metal or plastic? Sarajane
.....WeeFolk has 3/8" acrylic shanks
for 10 cents http://www.weefolk.com/pricing.htm#tools
make
your own shank
...with a U shape of wire embedded in the
back
.....if I make them out of half-round brass
wire.... I can get any shape I want
.....can also use
plastic-coated wires of all kinds
.......on the button back, I inserted
a small loop of color-coordinated, plastic-coated telephone wire
which I think will hold nicely because its coating bonds well to the clay.
....
I also make my own button shanks from plastic coated paper clips
(some cheap ones have a tendency to shrink
on the wire during baking and expose the wire, so do a test first by
cutting one in half and baking it for the recommended time.... the good ones will
just bond their plastic with the clay.Patty B.
...some people also like to
use craft wire orTwistee wire to make their
shanks, but I prefer the stronger wire inside the paper clip. Patty B.
I
use tiny screw eyes for button shanks. ....Before curing the clay,
I screw the shank portion into the back of the button until the bottom of the
eye is level with the back, then use a dental pick to press clay around the bottom
of the eye. I've never had one come out. Nancy Ward
.....Irene
and Tara's lesson on making shank buttons with screw eyes after
cutting clay balls in half (website
gone)
I don't make very many buttons with the holes in them
for clothes; instead I make buttons with an (acrylic) shank (polymer
is glued onto clear shank) ...they are then sewed onto fabric,
wovens, & quilts.
...I like to use shanks because holes
can compromise both strength and
also the pictoral area. If I do buttons with holes, they are more
decorative than functional ---as a former costume designer/seamstress, I'm made
well aware of the stress difference between the two!
.......make
sure the holes are a tad farther apart than on regular buttons if your
button is thin -- that can be a breaking point (more on holes below).
For my shank, before baking I turn the button over and carve out a space to fit in the lower half of a heavy jumpring. Then I backfill over the jumpring opening and bake it. ....this is a shank button that is extremely strong.. . . I used to put the shank in with phone wire instead of a jump ring, and while that looked great and I could match up colors, it wasn't strong enough. Louise
I wanted shank style for my molded
button, but didn't feel like messing with cutting wire etc. to make the shank.
...I
grabbed 2 (?) flat-faced, smaller shank buttons and pressed it into
the back of the molded pc, and shaped the pc around the button slightly...gave
the bottom a bit of a dome shape.....came out great
...then baked at 275 ..the
real buttons held very securely...couldn't even pull them off to reglue for security.
Donna
Button backs can be glued to the back of the button with Zap-a-Gap instant glue and use the accelerator called Zap Kicker (or presumably any superglue with an accelerator ---see Glues > Cyanoacrylates). This gives the glue a stronger bond and is a tip from Sarah Shriver who used to make buttons which she shipped across the country. Her buttons started coming apart because of the change of air pressure when they were shipped by air. The Zap Kicker made a stronger bond and they stood up under the pressure change. Patty .
The
backs of those buttons intended to be covered with fabric
would be great, but they're very expensive....
......so instead, I pop backs off (of
old covered buttons?)
......the fronts don't matter since they're
coming off ...so the only thing that needs to match is the size
of the button, and the color of the metal
......I'm
finding them for between 1-3 cents each so it is much more cost-conscious
than buying the fabric-covering button sets.
...What about thrift stores
and dresses/jackets they might have, etc.? Diane B.
...I also watch
Ebay for bulk button sales, and grab them when I can. Last batch
I got was 2000 7/8" buttons for $15.
...Also, check your local fabric stores
for miscellaneous button bins where they're selling odds and ends.... I
know a local mom-n-pop store that has a big bucket of misc. buttons. I
go through the bucket about once a week and pick out the ones that will work.
Talia
...(same?) I use the back half of hollow shank
buttons...and pop the fronts off with a small pair of jeweler's flush cutters.
......then I either squeeze liquid clay into the cup of the button
shank, press the uncured button in place, and bake
......or I bake
the buttons first, then cement them into the cup with E6000.
......haven't
had one fall out or break yet, and I have some customers who are pretty darned
rough on them. Talia
Jane S's shank buttons http://www.jjhandworks.com/buttons/shank.htm
PoRRo's
buttons and method for making her own clay "shanks"
-- place a rectangle of clay on back of button, with a toothpick
under it... bake... remove toothpick (website)
large clay buttons with several safety
pins on the back (each held with rectangle of clay) to hold them on stage
costumes (soldier) securely, flat
http://people.delphiforums.com/dancinjules//props.html
If
you need to put them on something that must be dry cleaned, put a wire shank in
them so that they can be attached to the garment with button pins. These safety-pin-like
gadgets, available through such mail order companies as Clothilde and Nancy's
Notions, allow you to remove delicate buttons or other decorations prior
dry-cleaning.
.. Make the button removable by attaching a plain button
to the back with a "shaft" of thread between. Put buttonholes where the
buttons would normally go and pass the plain button through that and then the
pc button through the front. When you clean the garment, remove the buttons. Sally
B.
Some
people just use a toothpick, or a rounded needle of some kind (like
knitting or tapestry), to first poke each of their holes in the raw clay,
then enlarge it by "pushing" the clay to the side by making small circling
motions
..... I don't usually like to use that technique though because
it doesn't give as clean-cut a hole, the holes may
not be exactly round or exactly the
same, and the clay may need to be flattened again
a bit around the hole.
What I prefer to do is use some kind of small round
"cutter" to make my holes
.... there are several
possibilities for "cutters" to use in this way:
1. small plunger
type cutters you can buy at craft stores or by mail order called Kemper
cutters; they come in various shapes, including round, and also in different diameters...
those are probably the best because they cut well, and the cut-out clay can be
pushed out of the cutter with the attached plunger
2. or, short metal
or plastic cutters for baking or for clay (in various shapes), but without
a plunger or a back
3. the most-accessible "cutter" though
would a drinking straw since they cut very well
....straws can also
be found in very small diameter sizes (like coffee stirrers) all the way
to very large ones (like those from McDonalds or a smoothie or shop that sells
"pearl tea")
4. other round stiff things could be used as
well --from metal tubes found at hobby stores, to rolled paper tubes
(which are surprisingly strong if they have a lot of layers)
....for any
cutter without a plunger, however,
there is the problem of removing
the clay from
the straw or the tube
...... with straws, one way is just cut off
a bit of it after making each hole, then use the fresh edge for the next cut (the
cut-off bit will fly though, so hold it against a little wall of something if
you don't want to chase down all the bits later)
.......or try blowing out
the clay (this may work best if you've used a release on the straw or cutter --cornstarch
or water, e.g.)
.......or find something to use as a plunger
(like a wire, or better a rod or tube of some kind which is just
slightly smaller than the tube you cut with
These are all ideas
for a single cutter used 2-4 times on each button
....for
exact or exactly repeatable hole positions, you could make the holes through
a template you make, or you could make some kind of impressing or marking
tool, with the number and spacing you want as a guide
......or you could
rig up a custom multi-cutter of your own using several straws or
paper tubes or metal tubes, etc.... the tubes would need to have some kind of
spacer in the center to separate them, but that could be as simple as a
fat marker or a square wooden rod, etc.
(......for more details on each of
these kinds of cutters, see Cutters)
(......for
more info on making holes, see Beads-Holes)
Holes
can also be drilled after baking with a tiny drill bit (perhaps
embedded in a polymer handle)... baked clay actually drills very easily
...these
holes will be very clean cut.
I find that using the tip of a philips screwdriver makes really cute "x" type button holes. Syndee
Some one suggested using two holes, angled inward toward each other (rather than straight up and down) to decrease the stress on the clay between the holes.... mostly important if the buttons will actually be used as buttons (rather than being decorative)
Another
thing to think about is where the buttons are going to be used:
....I wouldn't
recommend 2-hole buttons for stresspoints such as waistbands. ...the
thread may eventually
cut through the
clay (I learned this from experience!)..... so buttons with shanks
may work better in this situation.. Margaret
One
thing you can do for two-hole buttons to increase strength and/or to
prevent the thread cutting through and losing the button is to embed
a store bought button inside your polymer button
... or press your
store button onto the bottom of your raw clay button
....for smaller
buttons, you can use men's shirt buttons, then use the two diagonal
corner holes. LynnDel
Washing
& Drying, etc.
(plain clay, or with finishes or surface treatments)
My (non-extensive) research says: anything
but dry cleaning. They machine-wash fine,
and I've heard the tumble dryer is o.k.
All polymer clays but Sculpey
III (and now the new formulation of
FimoSoft) should be fine in the washer and dryer --those clayers
are too brittle for stressing in either one (could
break or chip), and also for stressing with wear (and thread stress in button
holes)
....though you probably could get
away with very thick or ball-like buttons made from those weaker clays?, since
the problem is mostly with thinner or projecting areas
(Premo, FimoClassic,
Kato Polyclay, and Cernit should be fine)
I
made 30 test buttons in Fimo, Premo and Kato clay. They had metal
shanks, polyclay shanks and two holes.
....These were stitched
onto small pieces of denim, and put in with every washing and dryer
load I did (usually cotton high heat)
... after 25 times
through the wash and dry with the jeans, ect, they looked great. ...there was
no wear, even to the ones with acrylic paint antiquing. vrjames
I've made and used and washed and dried Fimo and Premo buttons with not a break yet! Good luck – LynnDel
Buttons
will actually polish up a bit when they're worn & washed/dried.
metallic
(mica) powders (like Pearl Ex)
and real-metal powders
like Fimo pulvers washed off, even when glazed once with Varathane
...but "stains" made with
acrylic paint or Pearl-ex, mixed with Varathane, did
NOT wash off --held up nicely. Sarajane
I made
buttons with (alcohol-based) Pinata inks and Kato translucent clay,
using no finish
....I ran a test through the washer and dryer ... they
came out great
......no fading or bleeding of the inks (the inks
will smear or bleed on uncured clay, but once baked I can't get it to come
off)
(...I've also applied these inks to baked clay, and though
it does wipe off easily with alcohol, it can leave a stain on the clay.)
Geo
If you have
put Future on buttons, or jewerlry, be careful of
strong detergents!!! . . .
...I tried washing them in dish
detergent to get the soot off and it turned all the future covered beads
to a milky cover!!! I eventually threw them all into a bowl of dishwasher detergent
and it took all the future and the soot off and left me with my beautiful beads
again!!! Leigh
....Be careful of the stronger (laundry)
detergents such as Tide too. .
.they will fade or somehow remove the coloring quite a bit on certain t-shirt
photo designs, and may be equally strong on bead finishes. ....I was told that
All was one of the gentler detergents....maybe Cheer too?
(another
test with liquid finishes to see how they would hold up --wash-and-dry)
... buttons were made of Premo, Fimo Classic or a mix... buttons
were sewn on a knitted cotton swatch in 3 groups:.
....group 1 was finished
with Future... group 2 with Varathane ... group
3 had no finish but were sanded and buffed
.........also
one of the buttons in each group had gold leaf mixed into the clay
....
I threw the swatch in with every load (regular to heavy duty) of laundry I did
for the past few weeks (20 times)
.... I used cold water
wash and Tide with bleach or regular tide.
... then they
went in the dryer ....sometimes on high heat and sometimes on medium.
The Future (group 1) was gone
after 3 washings.
The Varathane VDE (group 2) is still holding strong
(though maybe more than one coat would be good?)
The unfinished group
(group 3) is fine.... and the buffed finish is still as good as new.
...I have had no chipping or breaking of any of the buttons so far....
and the gold leaf is still there in all 3 groups. Jeanette
Did someone suggest re-baking the Future (250, for 5-10 min) to increase its seal?....sounds like a reasonable idea to me.
I had only heard to be careful of hot dryers or strong detergents with Futured items
Don't use bleach, for sure! Sarajane H.
One advatage to polymer clay buttons is that colours won't run/rub off & ruin clothing
To sell at the local knitting
shop, I made an assortment of sizes and shapes
... their favorite
size was the larger (1 1/2" -2") holed button... people use these
on bulky sweaters and coats.
...I have also started making large
toggle buttons (2" long) I am anxious to take to the shop. Linda H.
At
the bead shop ..shank buttons have been popular for customers
to use as a toggle/button closure for beadwork designs
...also for beadwork,
the smaller sized pieces with few holes seem to work best. Linda
H
selling & display
...I sew my buttons onto cardstock
squares, in matching sets. Trina
...I stitch 5-7 buttons on a
business-size card (...cleaning info & my contact info
are printed on the card)
......the card is then put into a plastic bag
(with a hole if I need to hang it). Patty B.
...I use a quilter's punch
to attach my buttons to the cards (this is a needle punch that sends a
plastic 'tack' through fabric of a quilt sandwich to hold it in place for
later quilting ....(and like Patti, I sell most of my buttons for $1 each) Dianne
C.
My pricing runs about $1.00 per button (in packs of 5-7
buttons)
.... this is a bit low, but if you look at the price
for decorative buttons, but until buyers know how durable they are, it is hard
to charge more. Patty B.
..like Patti, I sell most of my buttons for $1 each.
Dianne C.
I sell my buttons at fairs with matching earrings. Trina
I teach my button class at a store that also teaches quilting. It is a wonderful extension of the craft. Trina
I made a "pin" that I wanted to wear at the throat (it has a dangle) and
I put a button cover on it. I wear it only with a blouse that buttons to
the throat, but it really makes the outfit.
...(I suppose a person could plan
to wear something that way, and deliberately SEW a button onto a garment in position
for this use, as well.) Sherry B.
Denise
just made some interesting impression tools from buttons.
....she
took buttons, and pieces of old jewelry, and pressed them into the
end of a cone of clay (so the cone is the handle.. and the button
is on the end).
...You can just press the button into raw clay for an impression
anywhere you want one....it'd be really easy to cover a whole piece with
a design this way... or just a border
.... AND you're not getting a
second generation impression from a molded piece, so it's going to be a nice detailed
image.
My buttons are caned, tho' I've also experimented with molding & braiding.
Violette's
many green-brown molded? buttons, laid together chock-a-block on
an "artist trading card"
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=6478490&uid=477851(near
bottom)
way to make a mold from a button
so the holes don't show (...buttons with a recessed area
work best):
...use a half pearl or a rhinestone to cover
the center area with holes, before impressing to create the mold ...remove clay
and bake
...fill the baked mold with raw clay....and you'll get most of
the button shape, but it will have a raised area (hemisphere or faceted) in
the center of it (rather than a recessed area, with 2 raised areas where the holes
were). Jeanne R.
making tiny flowers (or other clay items) to attach to
large snaps for hair decorations (Sculpey may be too brittle after baking;
use a stronger clay like Premo or Fimo)
http://www.chamomiletimes.com/crafts/hairsnaps.htm
. . . I like it!! THANK you!!! The possibilities are endless!! you
can wear snaps on your clothing too .. .
…or how about earrings
with fabric dangles you can attach snaps to? …….y'think they'd snap onto shoelaces?
…or snap a series of them onto some beading thread and make a necklace
you can change with your mood! Sunni
Smaller polymer items or cane slices can also be attached to clothing in puddles of acrylic paint (which comes up over the edge at least a bit), or by using some kinds of glues like Jewel-It. DB
Polymer items could also be dangled from pins/safety pins, pin backs or studs on clothing, then removed or not for washing.
I made a couple of polymer clay buttons to put on a dress so that I could hang tassels off them. Donna
You
can make jointed flat figures (like paper dolls or puppets) with button-type
disks instead of the traditional paper fasteners at the joints (puppets could
be paper or flat polymer clay. ...Make two holes in each disk, then thread a u-shaped
bent wire through the holes and the corresponding body holes of both, from
front to back; twist wire in back, and trim off ends.
... here is one
template: http://www.ruthannzaroff.com/mirkwooddesigns/images/paperdoll.gif
What if you to make a locket out of a button cover, the type with the hinge, by surrounding it with clay........ the button cover part is deep and can keep a photo or a lock of hair or..... I sealed some button covers with glue and am going to embed them into clay. Put a necklace bail on it and see what all I can do with it.. Karen
I've made lots of buttons - I have a Mason jar full of them. As to actually using my buttons, I've only used two! It seems I haven't done much sewing since discovering polymer clay...
Diane
Carlson's many kinds of buttons
http://www.dknitting.com/butts.htm
many types of buttons ( including
figures, toggles, molded, mokume, bicones, etc.) at
ClayPen
http://gallery.gundo.com/gallery/album60
(2 pgs)
Kim
Jolley's buttons...textured, then powdered or antiquied
http://www.itsmysite.com/kimjolley/
Jenny
Dowde's many caned or textured buttons
http://users.tpg.com.au/users/jdesigns/ClayGallery.htm
simple
textured button impressed with radial-pattern charm ...no antiquing/highlighting
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/beads-buttons-and-jewelry/easy-and-elegant-buttons
Klew’s buttons
http://www.klewexpressions.com/jewelry/buttons.htm
Tory Hughes buttons
http://www.gameplanvideo.com/videos.htm
Sarajane's powdered stamped-molded
buttons
http://polyclay.com/button.htm
Jane S’s 2-hole, dimensional
(fruits, etc.) and shank buttons
http://www.jjhandworks.com/buttons/twohole1.htm
Gail L's buttons... many patterns, often with gold, or bright
http://www.bright.net/~glarvenz/polymer.html
Kellie’s buttons
http://krdesigns.hypermart.net/Buttons/html/buttons1.html
Lizboid's various buttons
http://www.libzoid.com/Buttons.html
Margaret Reid’s various kinds of buttons
http://members.aol.com/polyopoly/button2.htm
(also click on More Buttons )
Dana
Bates' buttons... themes, dimensional, cane slice, etc.
http://www.craftsnscraps.com/buttons/buttons.html
Arizona guild's button swap
http://home.att.net/~reserved/buttonswap.htm
glarvenz's buttons... some horn-shaped, some petroglyphs
http://community-2.webtv.net/glarvenz/Polymer
Violette's
bas relief molded buttons (faux jade) piled together as
covering for a lid
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=3731886&uid=477851
Christel's
glove buttons, etc.
http://home.online.no/~raje/Polymer/buttons/index.html
Missy's Halloween
& Xmas buttons (tiny ghost, bat, pumpkin, gingergread figure)
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/miss_meme_30/detail?.dir=d8c9&.dnm=f468.jpg&.src=ph
Banu's
lesson on using translucent clay to make translucently white
buttons (bit like "pearly" buttons), which also have onlays
made from more opaque colors (of kids' theme items)..."miniatures" but
wouldn't need to be.
(...she makes holes with a needle, and suggests Sculpey
Glaze... but other things could be used/done)
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/beads-buttons-and-jewelry/miniature-buttons
Jane's
buttons, some molded ...fish http://www.nwpcg.org/sept99.shtml
(gone)
Kari's buttons (website gone)
PoRRo’s
buttons (website gone)
non-polymer buttons to buy and
look at
http://store.yahoo.com/phoenixtextiles/accessories.html
(buttons & metal charms)
http://www.dressitupbuttonsandtrim.com
(also check out their "Grab Bags")
http://www.dressitup.com/bg/
(many novelty buttons, wholesale?)
findings for making "charms"
for Crocs (shoes with holes) are at Oriental Trading online, at least (they call
them "clog embellishment doodads)
(see also.... any individual polymer technique such as caning, sculpture, color, faux, transfers, etc, which could be used to make buttons )
