I'm not much of a silk flower fan, so I'm always looking for creative ways to fill vases when I don't have fresh flowers on hand. Button flowers are nothing new, but I have jars of buttons sitting around and I thought it would be fun to try them a new way. These look more like flower stems, or colorful blades of grass, or as I like to think of them, stalks of lavender. Whatever you want to call them, they look beautiful grouped together in a vase and add a nice speck of color to the room.
To make a 12" stem, you will need:
- 8-10 buttons
- 30" of 24mm wire (or any wire flexible enough for twisting)
- small beads (with large enough holes to fit 2 wires through)
- scissors (or wire cutters)
- pliers (optional but very helpful)
1. First, lay out the buttons in the order you wish to place on your stem. I like to do small to big to small again. But the order is up to you.
2. Thread the wire through the first button, placing it in the center of the wire. So the wire measures 15" on each side of the button.
3. Criss-cross the wire in the back of the button as close to the button as possible.
4. Hold the wire stems in one hand and the button in the other and start twisting the button. Twist several times to make a nice twisted spacing between the buttons (approx. 1/4").
5. Take two small beads and run both wires through them, placing them right under the button.
6. Grab your next button. Thread both wires through the first hole, and set in place directly under the two beads.
7. Thread the two wires through the second hole - one at a time. It is much easier to pull the wires through the second hole when you thread them separately. This is where the pliers can come in handy, to pull the wires through or fix any kinks that occur.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 until you have all the buttons on the wire.
9. Twist the remaining wire in the same fashion until you get to the bottom.
10. Trim off excess wire.
There you are! A quick and easy project that anyone can do. It takes about 15-20 minutes for each stem so you could knock out a bouquet while watching a movie. The beads are optional but I thought they added a nice touch between buttons. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you try this yourself, I'd love to see pictures of your button flowers!
Comments