Button Tree Paintings
12 Oct 2011
I am, admittedly, late to the Pinterest party, but I am making up for it with my newfound obsession! I have found so many amazing ideas there, and I have been eager to work on them! My wonderful parents gave me some money for my birthday, so this weekend I (gleefully) bought a ton of art supplies. This is the project I was most excited about–and it provided yet another use for my millions of buttons! (I wasn’t able to find the person who came up with this idea through Pinterest, but if it is yours, I would love to credit you!)
I decided to use two canvases with a mirrored color scheme, and I used purple and silver because I love them so much. I gave the purple canvas two coats of paint for a deep color.
After they dried, I started painting the trees. I didn’t really follow a pattern, but just let my hand guide me. (Eric secretly took some pictures of me painting last night, but I haven’t seen them yet!)
When the trees had dried, I started sorting my (millions of) buttons–I wanted really small ones that wouldn’t overwhelm the branches.
Gluing them on was easy as pie: I used a Q-tip to put the glue where I wanted it, and just stuck the buttons on. Since they are so light, you don’t need a really heavy-duty glue. I did have to do it in several sittings, though, because my back needed a break from hunching over my button pile. Back-friendly crafting is always recommended!
Then I just had to wait for the buttons to dry, and think about where to hang the paintings! I like them side by side, so they sort of look like bright shadows of each other. I also love how in this picture the buttons on the table look like fallen leaves. 🙂
These are just little 8×10 canvases, but I’d love to make some more of these on a larger scale and play with different color schemes. Fun! Let me know if you make some–I’d love to see them!
Oct 13, 2011 @ 08:28:02
Yesss, I love Pinterist so much! I’ve only been using it for a few weeks, and it is already a daily obsession for me. Just followed your boards! And, I love your art project. What a great idea… May have to make one of these myself; my mom has a fantastic button collection that could be put to use.
Oct 13, 2011 @ 08:52:36
Awesome! I am so glad you are on Pinterest (I just followed you too!) because I keep seeing all these adorable owl things and thinking of you! So I am glad you can see them too:)
Oct 14, 2011 @ 08:24:23
Frickin’ awesome! I am so stealing this!
Oct 14, 2011 @ 13:12:36
It is super fun and easy 😉
Oct 14, 2011 @ 13:05:13
So shiny and beautiful! Glad yr birthday money is going to such a worthy endeavor! I’m pinning things on pinterest but don’t know how to pin things that I see on other sites. But you are kind and helpful, so you will tell me how.
Oct 14, 2011 @ 13:12:22
Of course! We can have a little tutorial! 🙂
Oct 28, 2011 @ 11:34:00
Love it!
Oct 28, 2011 @ 14:32:22
Thank you so much!
Our Mantel | Krug the Thinker
Mar 22, 2012 @ 08:35:17
[…] These button tree paintings are a happy reminder of the first time I put a paintbrush to canvas in years. I love having this tangible memory of how wonderful it felt to be creating again. […]
Jan 13, 2013 @ 15:03:09
if you think you were “late to the Pinterest party”, how’s about me ain’t anywhere near the Pparty! We had a Pinterest presentation at our PSMG a few mths back but I’m still asking myself: what’s in it for me?
So, now I’m asking you: what’s the main reason(s) for pintering?
Jan 13, 2013 @ 15:17:20
Ha! You made me laugh:) I am not really on Pinterest very much at all these days, but I used to sometimes find cool project ideas there–that was always my main interest. I think as far as blog readership, it can really draw a lot of people to your blog, but then of course, they don’t usually become regular readers. I feel more connected to people through Twitter. What’s been your experience there?
Mar 15, 2017 @ 11:08:53
Are you selling these portraits? If so, how much are you selling them for together?? I have been looking for 2 trees like this. White background with dark brown tree and dark brown background with white tree. This is the closest thing I have found to what I need. I need 2 portraits for above my fireplace. Thanks!
Donna