This button craft idea will literally leave a smile on your face.
From start to finish, you will seriously enjoy this button craft idea. It took me an entire day and a half to complete this project, but there was so much love and joy involved in the process that it never felt tedious (even though it is).
The whole idea started with an empty frame that I had laying around my house. It had fallen off the wall, shattering the glass, so all I was left with was the frame, and the original photo no longer looked “finished” without the glass pane, so I ended up having to get a new frame for it – leaving me with a “half-o’-frame”, so to speak.
That happened over a year ago. Countless times I thought I’d found the perfect craft for it, but each attempt didn’t work right. Until I found the perfect button craft idea.
Inspired by Ellie & Carl from Up
Have you seen that movie? Didn’t it just make your heart melt? Oh, I love that movie. The scrapbook, the storyline, Paradise Falls, all of it. I so wanted a piece of that movie! This project totally captured the very essence of Up, starring me and my husband. Like I said, this button craft idea is filled with lots of love, joy, tenderness, and happiness.
The Project
Materials needed for this button craft idea:
- 3.5 oz Favorite Findings Buttons #2001 in Rainbow
- 3 sheets Core’dinations 12×12 scrapbooking paper in “Cottage Porch” Whitewash Collection
- 3 sheets Core’dinations 12×12 scrapbooking paper in “Bright White” Foundations Canvas Texture
- 1 sheet Core’dinations 12×12 scrapbooking paper in “Lemonade” & “Tulip” Vintage Collection (if you have yellow scraps, that will work too – this is for the sun and rays)
- 1 sheet TPC Studio 12×12 scrapbooking paper “Little Lovin’ The Reasons I Love You”
- 1 sheet Core’dinations 8 1/2×11 scrapbooking paper in “Jasper” Gemstones
- amy tangerine thickers in “Hello” (alphabet stickers)
- Cloud template
- Straight-edge paper cutter
- Pencil/Pen & Ruler
- Scissors
- X-acto knife
- Tape (I used masking tape, but any adhesive will do)
- Double-sided tape (optional)
- Pop-up foam squares
- Mod Podge glue and a brush for application
- 1/8″ decorative ribbon in various colors and in white
- Bobby pin
- 16×20 frame or canvas
- a photograph (cut to about wallet size, landscape orientation)
Directions
- Creating main background. Using your straight-edge cutter, take one sheet of Cottage Porch and precisely cut 4×12 block. Take the third sheet and again, precisely cut a 4×8 block.
- Flip the sheets over, include the solid 12×12 Cottage Porch and line them up to create a 16×20. With each attachment, flip it over to the front to make sure the seam is as unnoticeable as possible. Repeat 3 times. *If you were able to find a 16×20 sheet, you can skip this step.*
- For the foreground, take one sheet of Bright white and precisely cut off a 4×12 again. Attach this onto the other Bright White sheet just like step 2. *Again, if you can find a sheet of at least 12×16, then you can skip this step.*
- Once both sheets are created, center the Bright White over the Cottage Porch. This will be 2×2 from each corner of Cottage Porch. Glue or double-side tape the Bright White onto Cottage Porch. If you choose to glue, make sure the layer is thin to prevent curling.
With double-sided tape, be sure it’s a really sticky one because the papers are textured and the buttons will add weight – you don’t want the whole thing falling apart. - As the glue dries, spread your buttons over the canvas. Just open it and let ’em all out. I personally think that’s the easiest way – I tried calculating it and it was just a bad idea. You may or may not use the entire bag. I bought two, so I think you will use the whole bag – I still have a decent amount left over. Here is a close-up of my balloon shape.
- Flip all the buttons right-side up and call your inner artist. This step is where the magic starts happening. Create the shape you want for your balloon. Fit all the little and big pieces together, moving buttons around as need be.
- Once you achieve the perfect shape, begin the ribbon process. For each XL button, cut off about 3″ of colored ribbon, and using the bobby pin, thread x’s through the button holes, taping the ends to the back. Keep it a bit loose – if it looks too tight, it won’t appear soft.
Repeat this process with the large 2-eyed buttons, this time, tying them off once in the front. Once you have finished the ribbon application on the buttons, you will begin the oh-so-fun part of gluing each button down.
*Be sure you absolutely love the shape of the balloon and the way the buttons work together because this will be the focal point of your craft.* - Gluing down the Buttons. Start from the outside edge. DO NOT start from the bottom of the balloon. Leave that very bottom row alone. The ribbons will need to be glued down before the bottom row of buttons can be set. It’s important to do the outside edge because you will want your shape to be set as you work on the inner buttons.
As you work on these buttons, you will find that they have a tendency to shift and move because they’re so close together that when they get picked up, it’s inevitable one will shift another. Even a smidge will make a difference.
So start on the outside edge first. Then start moving in from the top down. The way to glue these buttons down is to dip your brush in the Mod Podge and tap it onto the button bottom. Create a medium-thin layer of glue and press it down in place on the canvas. - As the buttons are drying, build your house. Precisely cut out a 2.75×4 rectangle using Jasper. With your exacto knife, measure and cut out a 2×3 leaving 1/2″ on the right and left sides, 1/2″ from the top and 1/4″ on the bottom.
For the roof, using Little Lovin’, count 18 squares for the bottom. To cut the angles, from either end, cut a diagonal from the bottom corner, going 2 columns over and 4 rows up. The top of the roof should measure 14 squares, centered. Tape it onto Jasper leaving about 1/4″ from the top of the frame and two squares on either side.
*Make sure to check the back of Little Lovin’ and cut the roof from a part of the paper where you will not cut into the hearts (these will be used for the chimney and bottom cloud later).
For the chimney, cut a 1/2″ of Little Lovin, but use the back polka-dotted side. Cut out a red foil heart from the same side and use sticky foam to apply it onto the chimney. Apply your photo. - Ribbons. Now it’s time to cut ribbons for the balloon attachment to the house. Using the white 1/8″ roll, cut 7 6″ strings. Before gluing down, lay them out flat and see how they will look. Create a V from the balloon to the house, tape it down. The bottom V will rest near the bottom of your house. Brush glue onto the ribbon, onto the button, press down into place for each ribbon.
- With your finished house, get the pop-up foam squares and layer each corner three times with little blocks. This will make the house really pop. Set it over the ribbons. If there is excess ribbon poking out underneath, snip it off.
- Using this cloud template, you will need to trace and cut out
– 5 Large clouds from Bright White
– 3 Medium clouds from Bright White
– 4 Medium clouds from Cottage Porch
– 3 small clouds from Bright White
Tape these down as seen on my layout or place them as you wish. the bottom layer clouds will require one sticky foam square layer, while the topmost clouds will require 2 layers of foam squares. The one on the bottom.
The last large cloud will require you to print the font onto the actual Bright White sheet itself and needs 3 layers of foam squares. Cut out another red foil heart from Little Lovin’ and place it on the cloud. - The sun. Using a cup or a compass, measure and cut out a 2.25″ diameter on Lemonade. Cut out rays from Lemonade and Tulip. Tape the rays onto the back of the sun. When you have that done, apply one layer of foam squares. Set in place.
- Adventure. Using the amy tangerine thickers, spell out and stick on “adventure” to the bottom, leaving about an inch of space from the bottom paper edge.
- Frame it, and voila! You are done.
This button craft idea has been one of the neatest diy projects I’ve had in a while. I just loved every detail of it. And once it was hung in place, it provided nothing short of a ray of warmth throughout the house.
