Wednesday, March 17, 2010

button earrings oh baby!



have you ever heard of a button shank remover?

it has been on my list of crafting supplies i have been wishin' for.

these were just $4 at Joann's with my 40% off coupon.




when i go to the craft store, my little lucy loves to go to the button isle.

we were there a few months ago looking at all the buttons and a thought came to my mind...

why not make button earrings!?

they make really cute buttons nowadays.



i picked up all of these buttons at Joann's as well.

i love these vintage broach looking buttons,
and these rosette buttons that have just a tint of coral to them.


buttons are pretty inexpensive, these sets run from about $1-$3.



because these kind of buttons don't have have the holes for sewing, they have what are called button shanks on the backs.



this is where my button shank remover comes in!




it snapped the shank right off!



i did this to all of the buttons.



these little guys are called post pads.

they are perfect for gluing to the backs of buttons.
they come in sets with the butterfly nuts.

butterfly nuts are the part of the earring that hold your earring in place on the back of your ear.

i know i giggle every time i hear the name.
seriously who in the world would name those things butterfly nuts!?


the post pads can be hard to find in jewelry and craft stores, so i play it safe and order them on etsy.

here is a link to a great shop that sells them.




put a dab of hot glue on the pad of your post pad.



stick it right to the back of your button.



i just love how these turned out!



i can't decide which are my favorite.



i wore these babies today :o)



what do you guys think?
why not give them a try!?




it would give you an excuse to say butterfly nuts.




giveaways





DIY Day @ ASPTL

47 comments:

Bobbi & Noe said...

oh my goodness gracious! I was doing a project yesterday with buttons and thinking how could I get that thing off the back! I'm gonna head over to Joanns. Thanks!

JS said...

i LOVE that there is such thing! thanks for the info - i love to use buttons for my girls hair clips i make.... now so many more possibilities! thanks for your continual inspiration!

Unknown said...

Baha! Butterfly nuts... who knew? I just always call them "earring backs", seemed like the logical name.

The earrings all came out super cute! I think I like the simple white ones best :)

Grace said...

Great idea! They would make cute little gifts too.

Beth said...

Those are gorgeous!!!

Kimmy said...

Can I just say genius?! Never would have thought one simple tool would open up a world of options! Thanks for sharing!

Kelly said...

i like those broach ones!

ERIN said...

Great Idea! Do you come up with all these ideas on your own?

joolee said...

how funny - i made earrings with the exact same white rose buttons! i made some blue cameo button earrings too and i love them. but i didn't have a button shank remover and that would have helped ALOT! i'll have to redo them...and make some more, of course. :) thanks for the tip!

Carpio Family said...

thank you so much, i didn't know there was such a thing to remove the backs of buttons. I saw some super cute bows buttons, but didn't know how to take off the back. now i can make them into earrings, Thanks!!

Kimmie @ Hello Mess said...

This is my favorite post this morning. Seriously Tanya, you AMAZE me!!!

Bessie said...

another wonderful idea!! thanks T

Bessie

PiggyTails & Giggles said...

Hello what size of post pads did you use?

Morgan | Mrs. Priss said...

Hahahahaha, okay. First, I love this tutorial and thank you for sharing. Those earrings are just too adorable!

And thank you for giving me an excuse to say Butterfly Nuts! lol... my life will never be the same now that I have that phrase in my vocabulary. :)

Julianna said...

I'm so excited I found you! I am making a list of all the projects I want to do! Great inspiration! I'm know your newest follower!

pinksuedeshoe said...

So so cute! Thanks for posting this. Coming to visit from U create.

Rachael said...

I didn't know such a too existed- I ground the things off with a sanding disc of one of my husbands jewelry tools when I did mine (strangely enough, using the same cameo buttons!)

Thanks for sharing, I'll definitely be looking out for one!

Unknown said...

i never realized there was such thing as a button shank remover! thanks so much for sharing! i'll definitely be making some of these :)

The Smith Hotel said...

Too funny! giggle, giggle....

I went to Joann's on Tuesday and bought with my 40% off coupon~A BUTTON SHANK! So glad to find your post of these earrings! I was thinking about making rings with some of my larger buttons~just need to find a place that sells rings~my Joann's didn't have any!

Going to be a follower,
Jody

Melissa said...

I NEED a button shank remover!! I once sliced my hand open with some heavy duty scissors getting the shank off! I got it off...but I had a bloody hand!!

Cute button earrings!

Lorie said...

Oh! Very cute!

And Shank and butterlfy nuts are such fun words!

I am going to be featuring these on my blog tomorrow!

Lanier Household Creations said...

Hi! I saw your link on U Create....these are so cute! Thanks for sharing!

aunt choody said...

Very cute! Did you let Lucy put sparklies on your nails?

Kari said...

Love the earrings. I have one of those "tools", but I don't use it for buttons... hmmmmm a new project for me. Thanks for sharing!

Free Pretty Things For You said...

aww these are SOOO CUTE!!
i just made DIY earing too!
Love them!! thank you for sharing!
your new follower and fan keren!

Martha said...

I am definatly going to have to make a run to JoAnn's ASAP! I love this project!

Jax @ AlyandAsh said...

Oh my goodness I'm in heaven! I spent a gruling 5 mintes trying to cut the shank off a pearl for a headband the other day! Thank you thank you! I'm off to joann's!

Valerie said...

ohhhh yeah.... can't wait to make these!!! filed this at thecraftersfilebox.com.

thanks so much!!!

Bud & Kim said...

So cute!

Sweet November said...

Your blog totally pulls on my heart strings!! Another successful nap time has been spent drooling over beautiful creations!! Success!! Thanks!

Elder Esplin said...

I love these! Can't wait to go through my late grandma's button box to make a pair. Then we can always have a little piece of her with us! Thank you.

Unknown said...

genius. . . I need to start working on my craft tool supply. :) But you know how so afraid I am of such things hehe.

Serendipity Handmade + Vintage said...

How easy! I didn't know it was that easy! I want to try too! Thanks for the great tutorial!

J. Lynne said...

I really wanted to try this over the weekend. It seemed like something even I could do. So I went to A.C. Moore Crafts on Friday; all I needed were the button shank remover, the earring posts and nuts, and of course, the buttons.

They don't carry a button shank remover, but I thought, "O.K. Fine, I'll check somewhere else on my way home."

I looked all over the store for buttons and finally had to ask someone. She brought me to the very back of the store where there was a spinning rack of what should have been buttons, but it was empty. The manager said they had placed several orders for buttons but had stopped getting them a few months ago. Really, a craft store with no buttons. I thought, "O.K., I'll get them where I get the button shank remover."

So I went over to the beading supply section to but the earring post pads and butterfly nuts. I can only wear sterling silver and sometimes surgical steel; otherwise I have some sort of allergic reaction. I looked around; there were lots of pretty shiny things to distract me, but there were no silver earring posts. I don't think there were even gold earring posts. I even looked for clip-on backs for my mom, but no.

By that time, having worked all day before hand, I was very tired and extremely hungry. I gave up and went home. I spent the weekend entering books to sell into my computer and watching movies, which doesn't feel quite as productive and certainly leaves me with nothing cute in my ears. :( le sigh!

Christine said...

Those are beautiful! I followed your advice a while back and made earrings from those gorgeous cabochons (I hope I got that word right) and I wear them ALL THE TIME and get tons of compliments on them. I need to go button shopping now too!

Morgan//Nuts and Bows said...

These are too cute!

Check out my awesome GIVEAWAY

~Morgan

Meet Virginia Crafts
Meet Virginia's Etsy Shop

Amanda Joy Petersen said...

That is a great idea to use buttons, instead of always buying cabonchons. The prices can add up quick even when ordering on etsy. Plus, when Joann's has their giant notions sales, you can get a lot of awesome buttons.

Great tutorial over at UCreate today, I have never been to your site, and now I want to stay.

Amanda Joy Petersen

joyfulbirdie.blogspot.com

Skye O. said...

Very cute! I love it when you update your blog. [Saw it on V&Co.'s link post. Mine is there too...#13]

I can't wait to make some new earrings. Thanks Tanya.

MommyB said...

I actually made these and cant stop making them! I've gotten sooo many compliments by the girls in my ward its been fun!

V and Co. said...

i heart those red ones!!!!

Mommafo said...

I can't stop giggling!!! And I can't wait to make some! BUTTERFLY NUTS!!!

I think I may go to Joann's and ask someone where the butterfly nuts are and see what happens. :D :D :D :D :D

ashley @ little miss momma said...

I just did a similar tutorial on my blog for button eearrings and a fellow blogger let me know that you already created this tutorial {so sorry to seem like a copier but I had no idea} I just went and made an update to my post linking up to this tutorial of yours. btw: your tut is far superior to mine anyway, lol! Love your blog! http://littlemissmomma.blogspot.com

Kitty Ballistic said...

Just found your blog - great tutorial! I haven't heard the earring backs called butterfly nuts before, but I do chuckle at 'ear nuts'. :D

I need me one of those shank removers, as my wire cutters don't snip the shank off cleanly enough for my perfectionist tastes.

yourstrulyisabel said...

Thanks for sharing! I am a crafter myself and I would love to feature your design at
http://www.handmade-jewelry-club.com/

Would this be okay with you?

Thanks!
diylessonsassistant
http://diylessons.org/

Michele said...

Never knew they were called butterfly nuts. On my package I looked for that but it did not say it!
I knew a girl in California who did this with a really cool pair of ninja buttons.

I tried this out with my little sister and we had so much fun! I've linked you in my blog. :)

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