Monday, January 31, 2011

Jingle Belles 05

We have a sketch challenge this week brought to us by Amy Tsuruta . I'm thinking it kind of looks like the sketch I used last week so instead of a rectangle card, I'll be using a square.

I used my SU snowflake embossing folder first and then added the paper-pierced edging.  One of these days I'm going to get around to checking out the sewing machine that was my sisters.  Right now it's sitting behind me in the case with no where to go.  My 30+year old machine succumbed to a cracked, unreplaceable gear - sigh!  Then the question was - what to put in that lower right-hand corner. 


I originally intended the green rick-rack that I picked up this summer at a garage sale to use as an edging but then I got a small brainstorm to make it into a tree.  Wanting the tallest tree I could get, I just barely had the layers overlapping which left gaps where the mountains and valleys didn't meet but I didn't want to see the green paper underneath. 

Just so happens that on one of those crazy nights before Christmas I had been surfing some blogs and someone mentioned a sale on buttons at Dick Blick and being in a holiday stupor (and probably still on some drugs from my biopsy) I ordered 7 lbs of buttons that got delivered on Christmas Eve and were still in the box somewhere.  I remember that HWNSNBP was a little incredulous when he found out there were 7 lbs. of buttons so I attempted to rationalize the fact that you had to spend $20 to get free shipping.  Well, I knew there had to be useful buttons in there for this project.


I emptied the seven bags into an old cookie tin (they just fit) which brought back some nice memories.  My grandmother was a seamstress at a local sewing factory and she and my mother did a lot of sewing at home.  They had a couple of tins of buttons that my sisters and I used to play with.  We would take the tin and dump it onto the carpet and then set about sorting and stacking and picking out our favorites for what seemed like hours.  The only drawback to that was the itchy elbows I got from laying on the wool rug.  My father cleared out my grandmothers closet after she died and we still haven't found out what he did with those tins!

As you can see, I got a little sidetracked and started going through and categorizing the buttons until I tore myself away to finish this project. 


But, with all that sorting I even managed to find a star button to use on the top.


Well, now that I've carried on about the buttons let me go and check out what all the other Jingle Belles created this week.  Take a look here.

14 comments:

  1. The ric-rac tree certainly is inspired, I think it's absolutely perfect.
    7 lb of buttons!! I'd have to weigh mine to take a guess at what that looks like.
    There is something fascinating about buttons, though, isn't there! My craft button box isn't very exciting, being mostly grab-bags, but my sewing button box is full of memories, and like you we loved playing with (my mother's) button box when we were small. I still have some of the most coveted buttons now :D. Wouldn't it be wonderful if those old tins ever turned up some time. Maybe they became somebody else's treasure trove.

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  2. I love it. I have some green rick rack waiting to be put to good use. I have fond memories of the button box. Thanks for sharing this great idea.

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  3. Gorgeous card,love the embossing and how you've made the tree from ric arc,very clever idea.

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  4. So stinkin`cute!!!!
    TFS!!!

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  5. oh oh oh i totally LOVE your rick rack tree - that is just inspired! and my mother and grandmother both kept their buttons in cookie tins, so i have to, as well - great memories of sorting, thanks for sharing!

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  6. sorry, i am totally chuckling right now, only b/c the thought of dumping and sorting through all those buttons...is *SO* something i would do!!! :) :) :) (ps: i say that was a pretty good BARGAIN to get such an awesome assortment AND free shipping??!?! well done!)

    as for the rick-rack and button tree: it is BRILLIANT and awesome and stupendous! i think i'm going to have to find MY green rick-rack and sort my own buttons now actually, you've inspired me! ♥♥♥

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  7. I had no idea Dick Blick sold buttons...Hmmm. I LOVE buttons. My grandma had a tin of buttons too. I sure wish I had them now. This card is terrific. I really like that big snowflake embossing plate.. The tree turned out great too.

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  8. My Grandma had a button tin that I always played with ... and I still have a jar of her buttons I keep in my craft room that remind me of how much she loved making things ... your ric rac tree is just toooooo clever ... and I love the button ornaments ... thanks so much for joining our jingle belles journey.

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  9. Your ric-rac tree is absolutely genius!!!! The embossing is perfect...7 glorious pounds of buttons?!!!! You lucky woman!!! Thanks so much for joining in on the Jingle Belle's Sketch challenge!

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  10. What a terrific ric-rac tree with all those fabulous buttons! I'll bet SmilynStef loved it too. Thanks for your kind comment on my card (pink and green Xmas)! Have a great day. :D

    PS - my maternal grandma was Polish

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  11. I swooned a little at the idea of having 7 wonderful pounds of buttons!

    Your card is so clever and so cute that I really have to tell you I love it! A very wonderful idea to make the tree from rickrack and then use some of the button stash for ornaments and topper.

    Even your background with that embossing is clever, it goes with the feel of the card and adds that little zing to go from great to gorgeous!

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  12. Gorgeous card. Love the pierced edge, but my fav is that tree. And the story behind the buttons. (I would dump them and sort them today if I had them. LOL)

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  13. I totally LOVE the way you used the ric-rac! Awesome. It's really great to be able to use "stash", don't ya think? Anyway, great job on the card. Super fabuloso!

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  14. Such a cute card! A rick rack button tree, how fab!

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