Custom Buttons from FIMO

 

I made these custom buttons for my Riven costume. Here is an easy way to make buttons from a product called FIMO.

 

 

First, sculpt the shapes with your hands and a few tools. Then bake them in the oven, following the directions on the package. The baking process hardens the polymer.




Next, sand the edges.



 Lastly, paint! I sprayed them black first, then dry brushed on silver.

Enchanted Cloak and Cape

I love making cloaks and capes! I made two in one night using the same aqua velvet crush fabric.

ENCHANTED CLOAK ~

First up is a cute off-the-shoulder short hooded cloak. I wanted to make the cloak kid-friendly so I used Velcro for the closure and hid the stitches under a pair of pretty gold buttons.

The cape is short or half-length on an adult. But it would be a nice long cloak for a kid. The back of the cloak is squared (pointed corners).

I added a charm at the point of the hood. It's a nice detail and the added weight keeps the point hanging down properly.

View the Enchanted Cloak on AvalynArtistry.com

ENCHANTED CAPE ~ 

Next I made a simple cape that fastens in front with a little snap. Again, it's a short style for an adult, but it would be nice and long on a little princess.

This cape is rounded at the bottom instead of being square-edged like the cloak. I left the neck opening huge so it drapes down the back. This also gives the option to pull it up and tie it in front instead of using the snap.

Or, I suppose you could wear a pair of wings on your back and have them poke out of the back opening from your shoulder blades.

Note: Both the cloak and cape are pictured with my Shimmering Mage Blouse.

Button Bracelets and Cuffs

This is a fun, unconventional accessory, a soft fabric alternative to a bracelet. It could dress up an everyday outfit or add some bling and color to a Steampunk costume.

 

This cuff is like a cuff of a shirt, but it's not attached to a sleeve! Wear it like you would a cuff, but with a sleeveless or short-sleeved shirt, in place of a bracelet. Show off the decorative button with an attractive splash of color.

Buttoned Wrist Cuffs

Button, button, who's got the...

...button?

Take a piece of wide trim with lace edges, roll over and stitch the short ends, add a button at one end and a button hole at the other end. Simple! Almost-instant cuffs.

These are cute accessories for a Steampunk or Lolita outfit. Or you can just wear them to make a fashion statement.

Midnight Fantasy Quilt

Once upon a time a weirdo named Avalyn decided she wanted to make a quilt. Avalyn had never made a quilt before, but she didn't think it could be very difficult if she chose to use a patchwork pattern that was all straight lines. Really, how hard could it be?

And so Avalyn sketched out a basket weave pattern for her quilt on graph paper. However, she made two bad decisions: first she decided to make a QUEEN-SIZED quilt instead of starting with something small like a pillow or baby blanket. Second, she thought it would be awesome to button-tie the whole blanket instead of using yard or stitching-in-the-ditch. between each square

What she failed to realize was how PAINSTAKINGLY LONG it would take to complete this project.

But there was a happy ending! Two years later, Avalyn finally sewed on the last button!

The blanket small enough to cover a twin bed but large enough to look good on a queen-sized bed as well! It now adorns a bed in her guest room.

Somewhere to Stick Those Needles

I discovered that needles get lost very easily when I just toss them on my magnetic pin catch-all.
That's why I decided to make this beauty:



This little emery was made entirely of scrap fabric I had lying around - some white felt (which I hope is wool, but probably polyester) some pink wool felt, and green linen. Ideally in making something like this you would want to use natural fabrics since fabric like polyester could dull your needles.

The button was leftover from a quilting project, and I used it to pull all of the layers together.