Crazy about buttons!

I seem to have become a bit of button-o-holic recently *lol*  The idea for this card actually orginated with the buttons. Every time Stampin’ Up! comes out with a new button collection, I just HAVE to have it. Of course the problem is that I LOVE the buttons so much, that I seem to spend more time admiring them that actually using them.  So for the last few weeks I’ve been pulling out my buttons and forcing myself to incorporate them onto my cards. 

I began by pulling out Stampin’ Up!’s Fresh Favorites I buttons. I distincly remember opening the container and thinking how nicely the four colors coordinated with each other: Not Quite Navy, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery and Tempting Turquoise.  So I opened up my catalog and flipped open my Inspiration book, to the Designer Paper section and started looking at all the different patterns to see what might coordinate with the buttons.  It just happened that the Flock Together paper coordinated almost perfectly – it has the Tempting Turquoise and Certainly Celery in it but used So Saffron instead of Apricot Appeal.  That’s where the Fresh Favorites II buttons came in – they have So Saffron buttons so I used those.  As for the Not Quite Navy – I figured since it looked good with the other colors in the button collection, it would most certainly fit with the card design provided I pulled in some Not Quite Navy elsewhere in the card. You can see a close-up of the row of buttons I created with the matching faux thread.

Now I do have to confess that this is NOT one of my favourite cards.  I do think the card’s kind of neat and I love the color combo, but it was hard to find just the right image to go with the buttons. An image that was too delicate or too small would have been overpowered by the buttons, which is why I chose the Upsy Daisy stamp set – because it’s big and bold, BUT it’s still not exactly the look I was going for. That’s what the creative process is all about though – you only learn about what works and what doesn’t and what you like and don’t like by experimenting. 

Here’s how I made this card:

1. Take a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2′” piece of Not Quite Navy CS and fold in half using a bone folder to create the card base.
2. Center and mat a 4″ x 5 1/4″ piece of So Saffron CS onto the card base using Snail adhesive.
3. Take a 2 3/4″ x 3″ piece of Whisper White CS and stamp the Upsy Daisy “flower image” onto it using Not Quite Navy Classic ink – you want the CS positioned so that it is wider than higher. Stamp the greeting from the All Holidays stamp set in the top right corner above the “flower” image. Pierce a border around the two sides and the top of the CS using a paper piercing tool or large needle, a foam mat, and Stampin’ Up!’s paper piercing template.
4. Mat your Whisper White CS onto a 3″ x 3 1/4″ piece of Not Quite Navy CS. 
5. Center and mat a 3 1/2″  x 3 3/4″ piece of So Saffron DP to the top portion of the card base using Snail Adhesive.
6. Take your matted image piece, center and mount it about 1/4″ down from the edge of the So Saffron CS.
7. Take a 2 3/8″ x 3 3/4″ piece of DP, center and mat at the bottom of the So Saffron CS mat.  The DP will slightly overlap the bottom of the matted image piece.
8. Take enough buttons to stretch across the card – I used 9 buttons, but this will vary depending on the size of the buttons you use. Cut very thin strip of co-ordinating CS for each of the buttons. Insert the CS through the button holes and attach to the back of the button using mini glue dots.
9. Stick the buttons to the card base over lapping the seam for the two pieces of DP with mini glue dots. You’re done!

  
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Stamp Set: Upsy Daisy (111710), All Holidays (114916) 
Ink: Not Quite Navy Classic ink (103008)
Paper: Not Quite Navy CS 8 1/2″ x 11″ (101722), Whisper White Cardstock 8 1/2″ x 11″ (100730), So Saffron CS 8 1/2″ x 11″ (105118), Certainly Celery 8 1/2″ x 11″ CS (105125), Flock Together DP (114018),
Accessories: Fresh Favorites I (107421), Fresh Favorites II (107422), paper snips (103579), Snail Adhesive (104332), Mini Glue Dots (103683) Paper Piercer from the Crafter’s Tool Kit (104310), foam mat and piercing template from the Mat Pack (105826)