Have you ever had trouble finding the perfect buttons? If you sew, knit, or crochet, and are interested in making your own unique buttons for your special projects, or even if you don’t do any of those things, but are looking to get your hands into a new medium, read on.
Starting Monday, I will be hosting a five-week button-making workshop here on this blog. Aimed at beginners with little knowledge of polymer and few clay-related supplies at their disposal, this class will teach you to make all of the buttons pictured above using nothing more than three blocks of polymer clay and a few inexpensive tools.
Oh, and by the way, the class is free 🙂
We will start off very simply, learning the basics of working with clay, and making solid-color buttons. By the last session, we will have a bowl full of coordinating-but-different buttons in your chosen color palette and a variety of patterns.
At the end of each tutorial, you will be invited to post a link to your own blog, flickr, picasa, or what have you, so you can show everyone your interpretation of the lesson. My hope is that these mini galleries at the end of each post will serve as inspiration for everyone, as if we are all sitting at one big table, trying out the techniques together.
Interested? Meet me back here on Monday morning for the first lesson.
I love this!!! What a generous gift…the gift of your time and talent! Since I’ve been visiting your blog I’ve been oh so jealous of the lovelies you create but was too intimidated to even purchase clay. I’m so excited!
Buttons buttons who has the buttons. Thank you Lisa for offering this class!
How exciting! I have been wanting to learn more about polymer clay and what to do with it! Definitely, I will meet ya back here Monday! 🙂
Grabbing a button and going to spread the word now…
*Signs up*
Way cool, I just might have to go pick up some polymer and be here on Monday. Always wanted to learn how you make such great buttons!
what a generous gift you are giving us! I will post this link on my blog later today. I make cards with pretty papers and rubber stamping, and these buttons will make fantastic embellishments! Now, which colors to go buy?????
Seriously??? That’s awesome! I’ve always been a bit intimidated by polymer clay. I’m so excited to learn about it!! Thanks 🙂
Polymer clay buttons are really fun thing to make. You are definitely one of the masters at making them Lisa! Your followers are going to love what you have to teach them.
So excited! Will we be needing any tools to begin on Monday?
Lisa…I’m so excited that you are so generous as to do this – however, I’m not surprised! I know I’ll learn lots!
Wonderful! Thank you, I’m really looking forward to this.
Sharing…Head over the Polka Dot Cottage @lclarke522 to learn how to make polymer buttons. I know you'll enjoy… http://fb.me/Rf7rNaKP
Oh this is fantastic! I’ll be back to learn! I’ve always thought about how to make buttons so this is my chance to figure it out! Suzie
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Those buttons look so lovely, particularly for hand made baby clothes and knitted cardigans! Is polymer clay washable in a machine once it’s added to clothes as buttons, or will it need hand-washing?
I wash mine with my regular loads of laundry all of the time, no special treatment necessary. Just be sure you are using a nice strong clay like I mention in the first lesson.
Thank you! 😀
Thank you so much for giving of your time and talents to offer this fantastic series on buttons. I’m looking forward to making some and will post some pictures.
It’s my pleasure! Looking forward to seeing your pictures.
I’m in love thank you for teaching us how to make button i was actually looking for buttons to buy now i can make my own waaaahhooooo
amanda
Yay! Now you can have the most unique buttons on the block 🙂
Lisa, does polymer clay dry out? How do you store unused clay after opening the packaging?
I bought some clay the other day to have for a rainy day project to make some buttons. I love making 15-minute quilted table runners and it would be nice to make my own buttons for them.
Hi, Diane. Polymer doesn’t dry out, although it can get a little bit harder to work as it gets older. It depends on the brand. Some are naturally soft, and stay that way for a long time.
After I’ve opened a package, I just store it in the same box I keep my unwrapped clay in. One thing to watch out for with open clay, don’t store it on paper (or cardboard) as the plasticizers with leach out of it over time and make it hard, crumby, and basically useless. I keep mine in a cardboard box, but I lay a piece of plastic wrap down between the clay and the cardboard.
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