Monday 7 February 2011

Hurrah for first comments! And more on button hearts…

In honour of my first two commentees Clare and Sol (it was a very exciting moment when I realized I had had my first ever comments!!!) who seemed to quite like the button hearts, I threw a few more together. 















They are soooo easy to make and look lovely on door handles, Christmas trees, windows etc, pretty much anything you can hang them on actually!
















If you want to make some of your own:

First, gather your buttons together. Use any size and any colour. I use about 20 buttons (give or take). Smaller buttons make cuter hearts but large ones are okay too. I like the randomness of using a variety of buttons from a particular colour palette like this coral/red one: 















or identical buttons, particularly pearly or engraved type ones like this one:















Next take some florist wire and cut a length approximately 3 times the circumference of the heart you are hoping to make. There are probably tones of different types of florist wire out there so go for something strong but not too thick.



Then start threading your buttons onto one end of the wire.















Once they are all on there, you could at this point (if you wanted to) twist the end wires together and make your heart shape. I try to thread the wire through a second time to strengthen the heart up. It helps it keep its shape. You should end up with something that looks a bit like this:















Next, twist the ends of the wire together and make some kind of loop to hang the heart with. I usually make a small loop and using a ribbon to hang the hearts with, although you could just make a large wire loop. As a final step, bend the wire til you have your desired heart shape.















Finally attach a pretty ribbon, and ta da you're done! All ready to hang in the place of your choice or give to a special someone for Valentines Day!

n.b. one small piece of advice - if you plan to double up/ re-thread the wire, or if you plan to make more than one heart I'd highly advise having a pack of thick plasters on hand. The wire starts digging into your hands after a while and ouch, it hurts! If anyone has a slightly more intelligent way of guarding against blisters when using wire please let me know! :-)

4 comments:

  1. Thats super cute and very creative! They look like they'd be a great addition to wreaths and flowers! Wonderfully done!

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  2. Thank you from one crafty kt to another! They are a great addition! We used them on the chruch pews and other decorations when we got married. I love em!

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  3. Thanks for the tips - they look really pretty!

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  4. Such a cute idea, could probably try something similar with a star shape for Christmas. The hearts would be a lovely addition at a wedding though :)

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