Liz Borer Project #2 .....

"When I started this project I wasn’t quite sure where it was going . However I remembered visiting a street in Lisbon where a lot of the shops sell only buttons or lace (a sort of haberdashery paradise !) This set me off making shrink plastic buttons". 

I die cut some circles of shrink plastic and also some flower shapes and lightly sanded the back. I have coloured the shrink plastic with the same coloured paints or with coloured pencils. Punch holes in the centre of the buttons before shrinking them. It was great fun shrinking the buttons – I got a bit carried away, particularly the floral shaped ones because they curled up like buds and then opened like a real flower.
 

I used the JOFY13 flowers which I cut out after stamping, a large flower from ELB01 also cut out, Mini 20  pattern on die cut circles, JOFY flower on die cut circles.

The clock from HP1102 on flower shaped die cuts and the spikey flowers on the circles. I also simply stamped the long run of buttons, bodice and scissors from HP1213 and the dressmakers dummy and scissors from HP1215 and the sewing machine from HP1214. 

When the ink was dry I cut out these pieces but didn’t colour them. When the were all made I die cut some tags out of white card and stamped and embossed them with frames from HP1214. The tags were punched and eyelets put in. I added some thread to the buttons and stuck them onto the tags, which were then all put onto a ring.

I made a cover for the button book  with a scrap of the chair fabric, the shrunken sewing machine and one flower.

This all started out with making a rag doll. I’m not going to work through that here. I have given the patterns to Leandra if you want to make her. The patterns are drawn on A4 paper so that if printed on A4 paper they will be the correct size. However I will just say that the easiest way to make the doll is to pin two pieces of fabric together and draw round the patterns. You can then just sew around the lines leaving the bottom of the torso, the top of the legs and  a space in the arm open for  stuffing. 
{Leandra says: the pattern is available here, just click on the link, and then print it out on A4 paper}
 
The hair is made with wool wrapped around the head. I used a thick variegated wool but any wool will do. Stick hat pins around the head and wind the wool around the pins criss- crossing the back of the head. I found the I needed two or three loops per pin. Then add more pins at the back and wind around them to form a bun. Before removing the pins stitch the loops in place sewing up from the head, catching the loops, and then back to the head.

                                                                                                                                     

The hat is made from one of the stamped pieces of fabric from yesterday. It is decorated with a Hessian flower from my stash and one of the shrink plastic buttons. Hat pins are also used as they keep the hat in place. The boots are made from black felt and are sewn together with blanket stitch.

                                                                    

She has a dress made from plum coloured fabric trimmed with black lace.

I then used more of the stamped fabric to make her an apron which was decorated with some of the buttons .   

One of the buttons was made using the clock from HP1102 and this was sewn to the bib of the apron . 

Here is another – large – button on her apron . 

There is also a plaque saying Buttons which I will explain tomorrow .

So finally here is the whole project – a Button Lady to show off the lovely buttons I made.

I do hope you have enjoyed tonights project, join me again tomorrow night.

Leandra Says: Wow Liz, what a fabulous project. Beautifully executed! I adore the buttons, and can see how much fun they are to make for so many other situations too!! I love your fabric, it must have been so templting to colour in everything, but the deep purple, and stamped, plain cream fabric allow the buttons to accent and pull it all together perfectly! An absolute delight of a project!


Gillian Says: Liz this is just wonderful project, all the different elements have such a vintage/feminine feel to them. Love how it looks all together. Bravo.