Scribble Picnic - BUTTONED

I had a very big project to finish this past week/weekend that I'll be posting soon but that doesn't mean I wasn't pondering what I could do with this theme - BUTTONED.  Problem was, I had in my mind that it was "BUTTONS" (of which I have several thousand I'm sure) and there were a few ideas floating around in my head.  It was when we returned home on Sunday and I checked the list again so I could get started when it hit me, or rather I should say I hit the wall realizing that it was not BUTTONS but BUTTONED.  So I set myself to thinking about it again and being a little wiped out from both the big project and the end of ICAD, that wall loomed large in front of me.  Finally, last night I decided to check out the definition of BUTTONED...and there it was, from the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: Decorated with buttons or small bosses, as a glass vase.  (via Worknik)

So I pulled out one of my tins of buttons and started running my hands through them.  The memories of playing with the tin of buttons my grandmother brought home from the sewing factory all came flooding back and I spent more minutes than I should have pulling out all the buttons of a certain kind before I realized what I was doing.  I still needed an idea.  And then I saw a tortoise shell button that reminded me of something I had made about 20 years ago........ can you find them?

These turtle brooches that were tucked away in my jewelry box haven't seen the light of day in a long, long time.

I thought I remembered which of my craft books I found them in so I could share the pattern, but after spending more time looking through books than I should have I sat down and created my own.

By then, bedtime was quickly approaching and I had every intention of just having the turtles in black and white on the white sheet, but during work today, I decided that they needed something to swim in so I came home and gave them some water.  The background is acrylics and I added a metallic watercolor wash over the turtles in a light blue.  

Yes, I know that was a very long-winded explanation of my Picnic contribution this week, but I hope you enjoy the final product.  

Now, off to see what all the other Picnickers BUTTONED up.  Click here to join me, and should you wish to attend the picnic next week, you'll have to bring a FLOWERBED.

One more thing, Button Floozies has a post about a button collection for a good cause.  If you have buttons you would like to donate to the California Holocaust Education and Resource Center they are looking to collect 6 million that they will be using to build a memorial out of.  Here is the link to the post.