Button Earrings

I joined in the Craftaholics Anonymous Gift Swap at the very absolute last minute.

Truth be told it was beyond the last minute, but Linda generously let a few of us in after the deadline. The swap was hosted through Elfster. Its a great site for hosting swaps. I've organized a few on there myself.
I sleuthed out my giftee's pinterest account and found a few pins that inspired what I made for her.

Her style boards are full of some fabulous casual wear and accessories. I decided to go with the theme of "Accessorize." I also tried to color coordinate while still fitting the colors in with the colors she pins most often and making them easy to add to other outfits.
I hope I've nailed her personal style.

I went with two necklaces, 4 pairs of earrings, 2 pairs of hair clips and a chevron infinity scarf.
I bought some earrings like these and I love them. Now that I've made them myself I'll be wearing them all the time, and making them to match my clothes.

I want to show you just how easy the earrings were to make.
On a trip to Joann's Fabrics I picked up a bag of buttons and some earring studs.

Initially I figured I would simply hot glue the buttons to the studs. That didn't hold at all. So on a second trip I picked up some Superglue. (Yes, you can buy this at places other than the craft store, but any excuse is a good excuse. )
I read the instructions on the superglue carefully. This was my first experience with superglue. It lives up to the hype. There was a brief moment where one of my fingers was glued to a button, and another moment where two of my fingers were glued together. The instructions suggest acetone if you accidentally glue yourself to something, fortunately the glue hadn't set and I was able to peel myself off without any damage. But make sure you have some acetone handy Just In Case.

Lay a paper down on your table so you don't accidentally glue anything to the table. You don't need a big paper, I just used an index card.
Turn one of your buttons upside down on your paper. Apply a teeny tiny bit of superglue to the flat part of the earring post. Turn it upside down and press it onto the button. I recommend only holding the post of the earring and not touching the button. Press the post down with your finger for a minute to set the glue.

Let it set for a while before you put the back on or put it on a card. You want the glue to be completely set.

I let mine sit for an hour, but I doubt it needs that long. I just got distracted.
I'm planning on making some for my girls with clip on earring bases.

 If you make some from this tutorial I'd love to see them!

Tutorial - Making Labels

Now that I'm sewing for my shop, I need to label my stuff. I thought I'd share my label making process here.

Materials (all available at a craft store - twill tape is available at fabric stores):
Printable Iron on Transfer Paper
Computer and Printer
Iron
Scissors
Twill tape (I use 1/2" thickness) or satin ribbon

Directions:
1. You will need to create a design to put on your labels. Something simple which includes your shop name is best. (I decided that since googling my shop name does not bring my shop up in the first 3 hits I would also include the shop address on the labels.) This needs to be slightly slimmer than the twill tape, so if you bought 1/2" twill tape make the image about 3/8"


2. The image needs to be mirrored to print as an iron on transfer. I also highly recommend repeating the image to fill the page. This will waste less of the paper.


3. Print. I like to print on regular paper first to make sure that the image isn't too big for the ribbon. If it is make the necessary adjustments and check again. Assuming everything is how you want it, print on the iron on transfer paper and cut out the images to fit.


4. Carefully place the image face down where you want to iron it on. make sure there is no overlap of the transfer beyond the ribbon.

5. Iron. (Follow the directions on the transfer paper you bought.)

6. Once cooled remove the paper backing and your image should be transfered onto the ribbon.


7. Cut the ribbon to the lengths you want the labels to be.

8. Seal the ends from fraying with heat. To do this: hold a lighter in your right hand and the ribbon in your left. Light the lighter and slowly bring the ribbon towards the flame. You will see the ribbon react to the heat. Be careful not to burn the ribbon (or yourself). The ends of the ribbon will melt and seal themselves from fraying. (if you've never done this before practice a bit before you do this to your labels)

(This shows the difference between a sealed end (left) and a freshly cut unsealed end (right)

9. Sew onto your work!