DIY Button Heart Keepsake

This post was first seen on Craftberry Bush.

There is something about a quick and simple craft to get your creative juices flowing, once again – don’t ya think?

I’ve been feeling stuck in a bit of a creative slump after having months of seemingly endless sick kids, busy schedules, and gray sky’s.

I’ve found when trapped inside the creative blues – it’s best to spit out a very simple, almost instant gratification kind of project.  Something you can accomplish while babies are napping, while watching a movie, or even during a lunch break.  Something like this DIY button heart.

I’ve actually had this sweet button heart hanging in my girls shared bedroom for some time.  I had enough requests for a tutorial – I decided it was time another one and to share!

(You might also be interested in seeing our girls room, which just got a much needed refresh.)

I rounded up some of my favorite white buttons to make another heart so I could take you through the few steps needed to make your own.

This heart will be used as a sweet little keepsake for my oldest daughter.

Her request was to hang it by her baptism dress which we have displayed on her wardrobe in her bedroom.

I’d like you to keep in mind that you could certainly take my instructions and create a shape for anything you choose.  You could do a button monogram or any little trinket.  You can choose to have the chain to hang or choose to leave that out.  It could work as a very meaningful gift topper or as the present itself.

Your only limit is your imagination.  I might also suggest it could be a fun craft for kids with a little adult supervision.  And can you think of a better way to use up a vintage button collection?

Let’s talk about what you will need to make your button heart, and how to do it.

Supplies:

• Wire Hanger
  • This is what you use to create the shape.  You’ll want to get some wire cutters to cut how much you need and bend and mold it to the shape you desire.
• Craft wire
  • The gauge is not all that important, but the lighter the better.
• Buttons
  • Any color you choose and any shape you choose.  Select a variety or stick with the same button throughout.  How many you need depends greatly on how big your shape is.
• Hot Glue Gun
• A chain
  • Any kind of necklace chain should work just fine.

Like mentioned above, the first thing you’ll need to do is cut your wire hanger apart and bend and mold it into the desired shape.  Also, you’ll want the chain to be inserted into the heart before you glue the buttons down.

Rather than simply gluing the buttons onto the wire heart, I found it easiest to thread them on to the thin craft wire which then gives you the ability to stack the buttons as you please and arrange them perfectly before gluing onto the heart.

The craft wire works great for keeping them all in place.  You simply insert the wire through the holes in the buttons and continue until your strand of buttons is as long as your shape.

Working on the back side of your button strands, you will begin to hot glue the buttons to the heart shape.  I found it best to work only a couple of buttons at a time, let that dry and then continue.

You’ll need to be sure once you get to the chain, it is in the correct place you want it to be before gluing it down.

The button heart is slightly fragile, but we’ve enjoyed our pink heart for 3 years hanging on a wall without any come apart’s.  It is certainly not a toy for children, but such a lovely little keepsake and decoration.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial and I hope it helps feed your creativity when you need it most!

I’ve got a few other fun and simple crafts up my sleeves you might want to check out.

Feel free to look around!

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Thanks for reading!

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