Button Bird Designs

Collection Obsession

July 27, 2011

At our house we collect a lot of stuff. Some of our collections include… peacocks, buttons, art, fabric, vintage pins, stamps, trim, rocks, snow globes, pitchers, and birds. Here is another collection that my daughter Lilly and I started, our cross wall.

This cross collection is displayed by our back door leading to the garage. An unexpected pop of color!

We look for crosses at yard sales, thrifts stores, on vacation, art galleries, and have received some as gifts. We also love to make crosses out of different materials laying around the house. It has almost become a game to see what we can make a cross out of.

Whenever we visit one of those paint your own pottery places, Lilly and I almost always grab a cross!

This is the most special cross we have in the collection. My husband picked it up while on a mission trip to Mexico.

We scored this cross at a yard sale for a quarter!!

Early one morning, I was out walking and found two pieces of wood out for trash pick up. The two pieces of wood were laid out in perfect cross formation. I grabbed them up (I think my neighbors are use to me going through their trash by now) and took them home, skipping along the way.

I painted the wood my two favorite colors and nailed them together.

I glued tons of beads and buttons to the wood and then wrapped wire around it. Another one of my favorites!

What do you collect???

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Trash to Treasure Part 2

July 25, 2011

Tin cans, I love them. I was going to take a picture of my collection under the sink, but someone might call the show Hoarders. I use them for everything and in every room. The cans are especially pretty when wrapped with fabric, paper, or even painted.

Brush Modge Podge on the can and then wrap and smooth out the fabric so there are no bubbles. I know, again with the Modge Podge. I love this stuff and use it all the time. I have a storage shed full of it. Hello this is Hoarders calling….

I think this is called crafting wire or florist wire, I found it at Micheal’s. Cut and twist so you have a stem and couple little leaves.

Learn how to make fabric yo yos here.

Glue fabric to the wire leaves and let dry. Then cut around the wire leaf. I used my hot glue gun to glue on the yo yo flowers and buttons.

I wanted to use coffee beans to fill these cans but it was a little too expensive. I used black beans instead.

Here are some other uses for those tin cans!

Once you make a yo yo, you will not be able to stop. I always need to be doing something with my hands and this is a great little sewing project that you can do without a machine. You can make them while watching a movie with the family, riding in a car, or sitting outside watching the kids play.

Happy Monday!
(Anyone else ready for school to start???)

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Pretty Paper

July 22, 2011

I found this paper at a funky little boutique called Bebe Gallini’s in Cornelius NC. I fell in love with it and bought two sheets not knowing what I was going to do with it.

Do you remember this $2.00 trunk I bought at a yard sale a few months ago?

Working with paper and furniture is really easy! I sold this at Metrolina in June, but I haven’t been able to get it out of my mine. I wish I had kept it for my daughter’s room. So, when I was in Bebe’s the other day I grabbed two more sheets of that beautiful birdie paper!

I bought this HEAVVVVY solid wood bookcase at a yard sale for $10.00 a few weeks ago.

I painted it with Duck Egg Chalk paint. Chalk paint is the best paint ever!! Not chalkboard paint, which I thought when I first heard about it. It is paint that sticks to everything and anything without sanding and without priming. It takes less coats than regular paint and distresses easily and beautifully! I will talk more about chalk paint later but if you are interested Tammy can help you at Periwinkle Pass or you can email me!