One of the most frustrating things for me is not having the exact right color or size of embellishment for my project. The most frequent offender is buttons. The one with the perfect color will be too big. The right-sized ones will be just off-color enough to be off-putting. I could cut button shapes out of paper, but they lack in dimension and shine! It seemed like a no-win situation until I finally came up with a solution that had dimension, shine, and the perfect size and color!

Step 1: Supplies

I made my own dimensional buttons out of acrylic plastic, paper, and Glossy Accents, with a little help from some toothpicks and poster putty. The real key to a successful pseudo-button is dimension, and to get it I used the thickest plastic I could lay my hands on: a 12″ x 12″ sheet of acrylic from Clear Scraps. With the Pazzles Inspiration Creative Cutter you can die cut acrylic up to 2mm in thickness, which is great for making your own buttons.

Step 2: Cut Your Button Shapes and Layer Them

I chose a button from the Buttons file in the Pazzles Craft Room Library, made it the just size I needed, and made the buttonholes a little bigger. Then, I cut my buttons out of both the acrylic and glitter paper that matched my project. I glued my glitter paper button on top of my acrylic button. [Note: the only thing I wish I did was hide the white edge of the glitter paper by inking the edge red.]

Step 3: Cover the Button With Glossy Accents

Using poster putty and a toothpick, I stuck the button on top of a toothpick. Holding the toothpick let me spin it around so I could cover both the sides and the top of the button with a thick layer of Glossy Accents. Spinning the toothpick between my fingers let me cover the button like I was icing a cake! Try to avoid getting the gloss and the poster putty in the buttonholes. It's okay if you do, you can poke it out later with a Pick Tool.

Step 4: Let Dry!

When the button is evenly covered, stand it upright to dry in another ball of poster putty. Let dry for about two hours. Do not use heat to speed the drying time: it will make the gloss bubble.

Step 5: Finished Buttons

After drying, you will have thick, shiny buttons that match your project! What's more, you'll be saving money by creating custom buttons instead of buying a larger pack of buttons just to match your projects. You can cut a greater number of buttons out of one sheet of acrylic than you'll buy in a pack. And unlike buying a button pack, you'll get just the right amount of buttons you need, so you won't have a ton of spares in that weird color you'll likely never use again.