How to make A Button Bracelet

I work with the young women at our church and they wanted to have a jewelry-making night.  We decided to go with something less traditional and it turned out to be a ton of fun! 

These {little} bracelets are fun gifts too (think Mother's Day or birthday).

My favorite part was seeing the girls' personality come through in their creations and choice of buttons and colors.  I even sneaked a {little} sewing lesson in with {this little project}.  They all know how to sew a button on now!

And really, sewing a button on is pretty much all you need to know for {this little project}.  It's that easy!

Here's what you need for {this little project}:

thread (color of your choice)

needle

1/4" elastic

scissors 

Buttons!!  The more the merrier!

--First measure your elastic to fit around your wrist.  You'll want the elastic about 1/2" longer for the overlap when you sew the ends together.

--Mark where your overlap is and then where the center is.

--Then lay the elastic flat and lay the buttons out and play with how you want it to look.

--Be sure to stitch through each button a couple of times before going to the next button so it's nice and secure.  You will want your buttons to overlap just a bit so the elastic doesn't show.

--Sew the ends together and cover with the last button to finish it off.

Ta da!

Fast!  Easy and cute!

The young women had a lot of fun with their bracelets and it was also a really fun mother/daughter activity with my girls at home.

 
 Ellie and Kay both love wearing theirs!

Charming Reading Project

I like to keep my kids interested in all the fun things they were learning during the school year throughout the summer.  


{This Little Project} is for beginning readers.

Kay is starting to read and I wanted to do something to reinforce the sight words she reads.  I came up with {This Little Project} that I knew she would love because: 

1) it involves making something fun

2) She gets to wear her work

3) it shows her progress in reading and she can be proud of herself!

Do you know someone that would enjoy 

doing {This Little Project}?

Here is what you need:

chenille stems or 1/8" ribbon or narrow string

letter beads

"spacer" beads-something to go between your words

These "charm-style" letters I found at Walmart.  They come with numbers too!

Oh the possibilities!  Just looking at them I get excited!

I also got these wood alphabet beads.  There aren't nearly as many in the bag though.  Jay was disappointed by that.  The charms come with so many colors in the bag though that a boy or girl could have fun stringing them.

To make {This Little Project}:

First decide if you want a bracelet or necklace.

We used half of a chenille stem for each bracelet-size it to your child's wrist though.

Decide what words you are doing and get all the letters out.

String each word onto your bracelet or necklace.  Put a "spacer" bead between each word.  We used regular pony beads as spacers.

Be sure to bend the ends of the chenille stems back after you put all your beads on so the wires don't scratch.

{Little Project Hint} Kay was able to thread the chenille stems on her own.  If you use the ribbon/string your child may need some help.

Wear Your Words!

Kay got compliments wherever she went.  And people wanted to know what her bracelet or necklace said-which gave her even more practice with her new sight words!

Making Button Bracelets

I had a blast making these with things I had on hand: buttons, stretchy string, and a few beads mixed in. I must say that I don't like wearing a watch (it stresses me out to see the seconds go by) but I think bracelets are fun to wear. 

Now that it's springtime and short sleeves allow you to actually see them, I thought up a couple of fun button bracelets...

 Kay is usually is wearing at least one of my ponytail elastics around her wrists.  These are much more fun.  I'll put a few in the store for those of you who don't want to spend the hour making them :) So Kay got a couple too, which she loves. Who knew that little girls just come that way?