button wreath

I have a thing for buttons.  You may have noticed.  I love them.  I mean I REALLY love them.  Honestly.  My mom and my friends know that nothing makes me happier than being presented with a little bag or jar of buttons.  As a result, my collection is really growing, so today we found the perfect craft to put some of them to good use.  

These little wreaths are really easy to make, but when you’re working with little ones, they do take a bit of time.  It’s a challenging exercise for little fingers, and some of the 2′s needed a bit of help.  It’s a super activity for fine motor control development though, and the colours, textures, and sounds that buttons make as they clack together always captivate us.  

Sorting the buttons was an activity in itself.  The Hooligans love playing with buttons as much as I do, so we sat for about an hour on the kitchen floor, just sifting through them, sorting, stacking, scooping, pouring.  I had a couple of glass containers, for them to spoon the buttons into while we sorted, and one little guy said he loved the “music” the buttons made when he poured them into the jar.  Sigh…I know what you mean, buddy!

To make your wreath, you’re just going to thread your buttons onto a pipe cleaner.  You might want to make a little loop at one end to prevent little ones from pushing the buttons right off the end of the pipe cleaner.  When you get your wreath to the size that you’re happy with, twist the ends of the pipe cleaner together to secure, and trim off any excess.

You’re going to see a bit of the pipe cleaner where you tied it off, as it makes a bit of a gap between the first and the last buttons.  Just wrap that with a bit of ribbon and tie a decorative bow. 

Then attach a loop, and go and hang it on your tree!

Awww.  Aren’t they the sweetest?