Saturday, September 21, 2013

Buttons and more buttons

Been busy getting ready for our show in two weeks.  I'm making more buttons and football pins in different team colors.  My neighbor already has multiple people at work that want some, and I can't wait to see what the response is at the show.

Trying to come up with unique buttons can be a chore.  I don't want to make a standard button that can be bought in any retail store.  I'm trying to get a variety of colors in the time I have and am making different sizes and shapes.

I have to admit, I haven't searched too much for polymer clay buttons online, as I want to develop my own ideas.  There may be other artists out there that have used similar methods, and that's ok.  As they say..."Great minds think alike".  One technique I love with polymer clay is mica shift.  So...I thought, why not use that and make buttons.  So far, I have made two sets using mica shift.  {For those not familiar with mica shift - also known as ghost image - it's a technique that leaves the piece with a smooth 3D image in the clay.  I wrote out a tutorial a few years ago.  If you are interested, check out the link below.}
http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/blog_post/DreamWeaversDesigns/3662

Here's the first set of mica shift buttons I made.  I used antique gold and used a jump ring for the component that is sewed to the clothing. 


 Here is another set I made today.  I used bronze clay, a honeycomb stamp and a square cutter.  I've sanded all the buttons, but only buffed the bottom two.  You can really see the difference with the shine and the 3D effect.  I must add that anyone thinking about working with polymer clay, should invest in a dremel.  This one piece of equipment can save a lot of time finishing your project and the results are amazing.


I mentioned in my previous post that I made two hinged pegboard stands for holding my buttons and pins.  I am pretty happy with the way they turned out.





Obviously, I have a lot more to make to fill this one.  Not to mention the second one that's sitting empty in my studio!  You can see a few of my pins on the right side.  I plan to work on some additional leaf pins this week.  Then, maybe pumpkins, or ghosts, or......you get the idea.

Here's one of my leaf pins and some football pins {these aren't quite finished yet}
 

Til next time.... stay safe and be happy!



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