A Valentine Craft: Making a Button Brooch

When my middle son Stéphane was in elementary school, he made me a heart-shaped brooch which was adorned with buttons.  For years every single time I wore that brooch, people stopped me and commented on how pretty it was.  That brooch was one of my most cherished possessions.  Then I lost it.  Heartbreaking.  What’s a mom to do?  Well try to recreate it of course!

 

The brooch was constructed on a stock wooden heart form,  readily available from any craft store, with buttons glued on top.  I have made dozens of these for gift giving over the years.  I paint the unfinished wooden heart  black so the buttons stand out more.  I use a small diameter hot glue gun to adhere the buttons on top and to secure a brooch fastener, also from the craft store,  on the back.  You could use regular wood glue as well if working with young children on this project.

Decide on your design in advance so you can work quickly while gluing.  You can incorporate loose pearls or other gems with the buttons. Select buttons of different sizes and heights.  Overlap them so you can create an interesting design. The possibilities are endless!  Glue the buttons on the front first and when the front is dry, add the fastener to the back last,  so your pin lays flat as you work.

For this blog post,  I created an all white and gold brooch incorporating a dangling pearl earring that had lost its match as an adornment with the buttons.

The wooden heart form, painted black with acrylic paint. It can be left unfinished or painted any other color. The brooch fastener is to the left and will be glued to the back of the brooch. A variety of buttons, loose pearls and a single earring are all ready to be used in designing a new brooch.

My button box full of buttons passed on from my children’s great great German grandmother, a gifted seamstress.  Strewn in there are various broken jewelery odds and ends.

My latest creation with the pearl earring on the tip of the heart. Buttons, a hat pin clock face and loose pearls all make for a unique design.  This brooch ends up having some real gems among the buttons, a good way to recycle old jewelery into new designs!

Inscribing the back personalizes your gift or creation.

Although I have worn my own heart-shaped button brooch creations many times, I only occasionally receive a compliment on them.  Somehow I think it was the love of a small child for his mom that captured the eye and heart of admirers of that  first brooch.  That love continues to live in my heart, if not in the brooch itself. Do you have a favorite keepsake created with love for you?

That little boy, now a college Junior,  at his recent 21st birthday, still capturing his maman’s heart.