we're gonna kick your buttons!!! :)

this week at shopping our stash, i mean. and ok, not so much "kick" as "encourage you to USE" your buttons; and because we're all about re-discovering and USING what we already own, we mean your oldest ones, at that! the ones you're either so sick of... or, conversely, so ATTACHED TO... that you haven't even thought about using them in ages. yep. those buttons. go get 'em out! (g'head... i'll wait...) awesome. now use 'em on a card, or a layout, or some sort of paper-crafty goodness and then come on over to SOS and link up with us! in the meantime, here's my card:

(super stashy: genuinely OLD--but not really "vintage" buttons from a big tin i got at a garage sale, bit of an old sewing pattern, lady from a vintage sewing book, scraps of lace; patterned paper: amy tangerine; tag and (super-old!) florals: prima; fabric thickers: american crafts; embroidery floss: dmc; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, gluedots, sewing machine)

as you know, i spent a good chunk of last week at home, sick, so i did my best to try to get a little ahead on cards. i'm not actually convinced such measures constitute a real economy, because it takes so much longer to do anything when you feel unwell, and for that matter, i don't entirely LOVE what i made, but on some level, to have anyhing besides nose-blowing to show for the week, feels a little bit like a "win" to me right now. :)

this card was actually 90% done when i was ready for bed one night, but i wanted to sew around the edge, which didn't seem like a great idea at 11pm, so i put it aside, and as it turns out, i was glad. because when i woke the next morning i decided i didn't love how much contrast there was between the original (blue) background and the tag+embellishment cluster. here's what it looked like in my "first draft":

luckily, the lace was only lightly tacked with gluetape, and everything else was just sitting on top, so i made a second card base (don't worry, i SAVED the first one; you'll be seeing it again!) in a more monochromatic shade of yellow... et voila... instant makeover!

and now it's your turn to raid your stash of buttons and see how you can give them a new lease on life! why not start by popping over to SOS to see what our incredible DT has done, i guarantee inspiration galore will be yours for the taking! ♥