Book Review: Button Lover's Jewelry

Hello crafty people!

On my desk today is a lovely new book that I received from Leisure Arts:  Button Lover's Jewelry.  I love using buttons in my craft and jewelry designs, so I was eager to look through this new book. 

Button Lover's Jewelry

As you can see from the cover, there are bracelets, earrings and necklaces made with very interesting buttons in this book.  And the buttons used are some of my favorites from Dritz® .

As part of my review, I wanted to create one of the projects.  There were so many cute designs that it was hard to choose.  All of these projects could be successfully made by a beginning crafter following the clear and easy instructions.  I think this book would be perfect for tweens, teens and anyone who loves buttons.

I decided to try the Denim and Lace Cuff Bracelet as I love to work with denim and have a lot of it around.  It's one of my favorite craft materials.

There are a few denim cuffs in the book.  This one is the Denim and Lace Cuff Bracelet.  I love the contrast of the denim and lace.

Denim and Lace Cuff Bracelet

I didn't have a cuff from a jacket, so I cut part of the waistband from a pair of old jeans.

A heavy pair of scissors is needed for this.  This pair from Fiskars is perfect for cutting through heavy fabric like denim.  I cut close to the edge of the waistband.

Then, I removed the belt loops.

I'm going to use the buttonhole as part of my bracelet design, but if you want to attach the button closures as the author did in the book, you can cut a strip of fabric or cut a piece of the waistband without the buttonhole.

Dritz® buttons are featured in the book, and I had a lot of those in my button collection already as I love using them in my jewelry.  These are the ones I had, but I needed a few more!

Here's what I finally decided on for this bracelet.  Most of the buttons are coconut with one yellow patterned polyester set. 

I found my sewing machine, dusted it off, and used it to tack down the ends of the lace.  But, you could do this with a fabric glue also, or you could hand sew it.  I sewed around the buttonhole also since I needed to cut through the lace for the opening.

Then, I sewed on the buttons.

Denim and Lace Cuff

Denim and Lace Cuff

Here's the back:

This cuff turned out to be a combination of a couple of the cuff designs in the book.  I used the lace and stacked buttons from this design and the placement from another cuff design in the book.   

Most of the other designs in this book are simpler than this and involve stringing on cord, gluing, simple attachments with jump rings or easy jewelry-making skills.  There is something for everyone to make easily with this great assortment of jewelry designs.  I think this book plus an assortment of buttons and stringing materials would make a great gift for anyone who loves jewelry.  And, of course, you can't beat the buttons!

I hope you enjoyed this book review.  I received a copy of this book for review, but the opinions are completely my own.  Stop in again next month for another jewelry book review.  Interested in this book? Check the Leisure Arts website.

Happy Crafting!
Terry