Button Brooch Making

I like badge/brooches but can never find quite the right one for me.  I had been looking at jewellery making and had got a couple of books from the library.  The book that most appealed to me was ‘How to Make Jewellery With Tatty Devine’ their jewellery ideas are very quirky and  I like the idea of making things out of stuff you might have around the house or pick up from junk/charity shops.

I bought some brooch backs, you can get them in different sizes (I got mine from Ebay).  We have a jam jar full of colourful buttons at home and I wanted to use these as a base for my badges.

The first one I made I used a lovely large wooden button (approx 4cm wide), I rub the back surface where the brooch back will be positioned with an emery board and this will make the glue adhere better to the button.  I mixed a little bit of epoxy glue with a wooden cocktail stick, you can use the stick to spread the glue too, (this can be quite smelly, take care and always read the health and safety info).  I usually mix this on a bit of foil or old plastic covered card packaging, then you can just throw it away once done, you don’t need a lot.  The most important part that I learnt was to position the brooch back at the top of the button (I had always stuck it in the middle),  positioning it at the top makes the brooch hang better on your clothes.  Leave overnight to dry, laying it flat so that the brooch back doesn’t slide.

I did the same with the bird badge but remember, before gluing, to rub the back of the bird with a file and the top of the button (remembering to rub only the parts that the bird will cover).  The birds were bought on Ebay too – search ‘resin swallows’. You will need to glue the bird to the front one day and the brooch back the next day.

In this photo you can see the different size brooch backs.

I love the colours and you can make them to suit your own style.

I have also sewn a little cat brooch that measures 2.5cm x 2.5cm approx.  A little bit tricky but worth it, I’ve put him on a tote bag I have.

 

Enjoy! x