Colorful buttons were used to form the cross for our GARDEN SEED MEMORY BOX. The designer uses the box to hold her heirloom garden seeds. These are the seeds she gathers each year from her annuals, dries, bags, labels & stores them for the next year’s garden.
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
28-0293 Oval Clear Dome Paper Mache Box
Acrylic Paint Palette: black, white
Sponge Brush applicator
½” wide acrylic painting brush
Tooth pick
Strong Glue (E-6000)
Craft glue
3 coordinating pieces of 4” fabric
Buttons
Black permanent fine line marker
3 each of 1 yard ribbons
BOX PAINTING INSTRUCTIONS: Remove the clear dome and set aside. Paint the bottom of the box inside and out black. Paint both sides of the oval insert black. Paint the lid inside and out white.
Paint the stripes on the rim of the box using the ½” wide acrylic painting brush in black.
ADHERING FABRIC: Cover the oval insert with a thin layer of craft glue. Lay the fabric in a patchwork pattern over the glue and press in place.
BUTTON CROSS INSTRUCTIONS:
- Measure and mark the center of you fabric covered oval using a pencil to make a dot. If you feel more comfortable drawing a line design for the cross pattern measure out from the center dot 1 ¼” horizontally on both sides of the dot. Measure and mark a line 1 ½” from the center up vertically & 2” down vertically.
- Save your prettiest & most interesting buttons for the top layer.
- Build you button cross starting with the center button. Use a flat button, not one of your prettiest for the center. Add buttons on either side of the center, vertically and horizontally. Every once in a while lay you plastic dome over the cross to make sure you are not making the cross too big to fit under the dome.
- Add a second layer of buttons up close to the center button filling in between each of the first layer of buttons. Refer to the finished cross.
- At this point you get the idea of how the cross will look and you can begin to glue your buttons down. Use the E-6000 glue. Do not squeeze the tube. The glue flows freely from the tube. The designer uses this method instead of hot glue because hot glue is not as archival friendly & regular craft glue doesn’t hold the buttons as securely.
- Final layer is your prettiest buttons. Feel free to add as many button layers as you wish but keep placing the dome over the cross to make sure it is going to fit inside the lid.
INK DETAIL: Use your permanent ink pen to write: GOD’S WORD IS THE SEED……LUKE 8:11
Bundle the three ribbons together and tie around the middle of the box. Add a dot of glue behind the knot to hold the ribbons in place. |