Sunday, May 13, 2012

Button Swap 'n' Hop

  Today is reveal day for the button swap challenge! Hip Hip Hooray!

This lovely swap was arranged by Cindy Wimmer of Sweet Bead Studio. If you click on the image above (aka the button swap banner), it'll take you to the post that explains it all, but in quick summary, all of us participants were assigned a partner to whom we sent some small number of buttons, and in turn our partners sent us back some buttons of their own.

I've always loved buttons, but I'd not yet used them in my jewelry. My mom recently gave me a huge sack of buttons, some vintage and some brand spanking new. Because I'm always looking for a way to challenge myself as an artist, I just knew that I had to enter this blog hop, so I did-- and boy, was it challenging to decide what I wanted to do with those buttons!

First things first, I was paired up with the lovely Cynthia over at  Antiquity Travelers, and these are the buttons I received from her:

I told her that blue was my favorite color, so she sent me an all blue set. YAY!
This challenge was particularly challenging because I couldn't decide what I wanted to do with the buttons. Not only did I end up using a different button than I originally planned-- the blue and white gingham instead of the shiny one with black swirls all over-- but I ended up creating something completely different as well. Take a look for yourself to see what I mean:

Yep, you guessed it-- a stitch marker of my very own!!!

My original plan was to make a bracelet or a necklace, but I think I'll get a lot more use out of this project!  I wrapped the button with bright blue wire, and added a star bead and pewter rose to finish it off. I need to pick up a few more buttons before I can use the black swirly one-- I have a metric ton of them, but not too many that are a good match for that particular one-- so once I do that, I'll post lots of pretty photos of the finished product.

Since this is a blog hop, I'm gonna keep this short and sweet-ish and say "see you later" for now. If you want to hop along with the rest of us, click on the links below to travel to the other participants and see what they made. Happy hopping, y'all!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Alice Peterson  and Kim Bender
 Kim Roberts and Partner unable to participate at this time.
Pam Ferarri and Stefanie Teufel (will share their reveal on a later date)
Stefanie Teufel and Pam Ferarri (will share their reveal on a later date)

27 friends stopped by to chat:

Thoughtfulhands said...

What a very cute ideal the color is so cheery it will make you smile at every stitch :)

Alice said...

Not ever having worked with yarn before, I didn't know there was such a thing as a stitch marker. What a great idea!

Shirley said...

That is a wonderful idea! Now you've got me thinking! (I crochet, and have just started a pattern that calls for stitch markers)

Holly said...

Stitch marker, huh? Love it!

TesoriTrovati said...

What a clever use for the button. I don't knit but I know a lot of people who do. Enjoy the day! Erin

Billi's Paper Batiks said...

I would not have been able to avoid using the gingham button either. Perfect stitch marker.

Brenda Salzano said...

Love the gingham button! Your photo against the knitting is perfect, as a matter of fact it has inspired a new sculpted button for me to make in the future! I have not made plaids so will make some of them this summer because of that photo! ;-)

KayzKreationz said...

Such a pretty stitch marker. And very useful. Nice job. I'm sure you'll enjoy using the other buttons, too. Congrats.

AntiquityTravelers said...

oh yeah, yeah!!! I love the stitch marker! One of my long time friends is Thea over at BabyCocktails ... and I have made a couple dozen stitch markers for her! What a great idea. Thank you again for the gorgeous buttons!

CraftyHope said...

What a great idea for a button! I don't knit (yet) but I think that's an adorable stitch marker!

Cindy said...

Julia, oh how original!! I haven't seen anything like this yet in the button swap. I love seeing such out of the box ideas for buttons. Now you have made something not only pretty, but useful with your swap buttons! Have fun with that big stash of buttons from your Mom! Looks like you'll be busy creating more stitch markers! :-)

kristibasket said...

I can totally appreciate a stitch marker! What a cute idea!!

Hopemore Studio said...

That is a great idea and so useful!!
~Angie

In the Light of the Moon said...

I love your idea!! Very cool and unique!! Cat

Christine said...

A cute stitch marker - great idea!!

tappingflamingo said...

What a great idea! I've been wanting to make some of those, but never thought of using buttons.

Jenna said...

Great idea-- and I love the blue wire with the button/bead combo you picked!

JeannieK said...

I don't know what a stitch maker is, but the looks fun

Firefly Visions said...

What a great idea! A button is perfect for this. I love the blue wire that you used and the addition of the star at the bottom of the marker.

Kym Hunter Designs said...

That's a very good idea and a unique way to use the button's you received!

Tracy Statler said...

What a good idea! I love to see other people's non jewelry creations! Very pretty.

Tracy

Shanti Harvell said...

Wonderful idea! Beautiful design! Luv non jewelry ideas!!! U rock!!

My Life Under the Bus said...

Great idea!

Rhonda Parrish said...

I think a button swap is a fabulous idea, and combining it with a blog hop is even better. The buttons you received look very nice and I love what you've done with the gingham one :)

~ Rhonda Parrish

LoriF said...

Love the stitch marker! I've been asked to do that, and as I don't knit I kind of didn't get the picture, but I do now. :-)
Very nice to see something different done with your button!

T. Powell Coltrin said...

That's very clever. My daughter just inherited her great grandmother's treadle sewing machine. As if that wasn't treat enough, inside the drawers were several cardboards of old buttons. I'm not lying.

First time here using the A-Z list.
Teresa

Unknown said...

Hello Julia! I sent you a novel back on the comment you left and then realized that you're a "no-reply" blogger. Is that on purpose?
I have no idea how to check my RSS feed!...Feel free to share your secret! I'm still learning so much in this bloggy world!!
Kristy
htt://kristyscupofjo.blogspot.com

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, and for reading my blog! <3