Typically, I don’t post on a Tuesday – we’re all out of synch this week because I totally played hooky on Sunday, hung out with hubby and relaxed. Ok, so fall is a few weeks away but I’m in LOVE with this project and couldn’t wait to share it with you! If you’re a new friend to the blog, you’ll discover pretty fast that I love making things for my front door that are kind of…. unconventional. Big, bold, and yes, over-the-top with presence! This button pumpkin door sign totally checks all my unconventional boxes!
The idea came to me when I was making the button cupcake art birthday gift for my daughter. I had so much fun with that, my daughter adored it and I thought; why not make a button something for fall on a bigger scale? It morphed into something bigger and bolder than I originally imagined, but I’m good with that! My inspiration came from these packs of orange ombre buttons from Jo-Ann, by Blumenthal Lansing Co.
This took a lot of buttons – like a LOT a lot! I lost count of the number of packs I bought – 11 or 12 maybe? I know I bought out three Jo-Ann stores in my area. ? There are probably around 800 buttons on this pumpkin, give or take, plus seed beads. It has a wow factor, though, don’t you think? I’ll tell you what Mr. Smarty Pants had to say at the end of the post!
Here’s how I made it!
I started with a piece of white foam core and drew a free-hand pumpkin with stem. The pumpkin was cut out, carefully, using an X-Acto knife with a new blade. I honestly didn’t think too much about the size at the time, but I did have to put it on the kitchen floor to get a photo, lol.
The button packs contain large and small buttons, from light yellow to brown. I didn’t use the large light yellow buttons; starting with the light orange buttons, I glued the large buttons onto the foam core, going from light to dark, ending with a layer of dark brown at the bottom of the pumpkin and on the stem. I used Gem-Tac glue to adhere all of the buttons and beads. The pumpkin looked like this with all of the large buttons.
I used the small buttons in one shade lighter than each large button and layered them on top of the large buttons. I glued the buttons around the perimeter so that they came off the edge of the foam core, which completely covered the foam. Any gaps between the buttons were filled in with seed beads in shades of champagne/yellow, orange, and bronze, brown and black. One it was dry – and dozens of unglued, tiny seed beads bounced across the kitchen floor! – it was buttoned, beaded and sparkling, measuring 16” wide and 14 ½” high.
A piece of black foam core was trimmed to about 22” tall with the X-Acto knife. I measured where I wanted the ribbon hanger to be centered on the black form core and punched holes with my Crop-A-Dile, a great punch that bites through just about anything! About a yard of 2” wired ribbon, in pretty fall colors, was threaded through the holes, front to back, leaving a loop in the front and making a matching loop in the back, with the ribbon tails tied into a bow. The finished pumpkin was glued to the black foam core with a thick layer of tacky glue. To finish it all, I added “tendrils” to the bottom of the pumpkin with Stickles in Eucalyptus. I wrote the word “Fall” first in white pencil, then traced over it twice with Stickles in Orange. Some flourished were added beneath fall in Cooper and Yellow Stickles, and dots of Yellow Stickles were added to each corner. The piece was (finally) done!
I am just in love with how big, bright and dimensional this piece is and it’s going to look amazing on the door! It’s going up on the first day of fall! The button pumpkin sign can be replaced with something more Halloween in October and used again after Halloween until Thanksgiving.
Mr. Smarty Pants said, “You’re out of your mind! No one is going to make a pumpkin with hundreds of buttons!” I gently reminded him that being out of my mind has LONG been established and he really needed to come up with a fresh take on the state of my mind. ? Maybe someone will want to make this on a smaller scale, right? Maybe!
So, my dear friends, it’s your turn to weigh in! What do you think? Too much or too fun?
I hope I’ve inspired you a little bit to put something fun, different and totally YOU on your front door to welcome fall this year! Thanks so much for stopping by!
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This is absolutely adorable! I love it!
reaaaaaalllly cute Cindy! i don’t envy you picking up all the tiny beads off the floor though-lol but i do say it’s “too fun”! ?
Wow, is that cute, Cindy! Definitely too fun! ?
So cute! I love it!
That is awesome Cindy!! I absolutely love your creativity…and your bold style! ?
Oh, Lisa, thank you! You know I’m never afraid to go a little – ok, a lot! – over the top, but I love how this turned out. Thank you for your sweet words of encouragement!
You are so crafty! I love it!
Shamene, thank you so much for your sweet visit and comment!
What a fun way to use buttons!
Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun with this and love how it turned out. It’s so sweet of you to visit – hope you’re having a great week!
Thank you so much! It was a lot of fun!
So cute, Cindy!! I love the ombre buttons!
Love this! So Festive!
Thank you so much, Nicole! I’m so happy that you like it and I had so much fun making it.
I would buy this off you!!
Jen, I’m so behind on my comments but yours is so kind and that’s such a compliment! Thank you so much for your visit and I’m thrilled that you like the button pumpkin.
Are you kidding LOVE! My comment is “you can NEVER have enough buttons”! thank you for sharing and inspiring!
Thanks, Helen!! Well, it was the buttons that totally inspired me and I am in love with the ombre! Thank you so much for visiting and sharing!
I love this!!! Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop. I hope you saw the new giveaway I posted yesterday. xo P.S. watch for your feature on Monday
Katie, thank you so much, you are so kind! Thank you so very much the party and the feature. Oh, I need to check out the giveaway! ? Hope you’re having a great week!
Oh, how cute. It’s so simple, it’s perfect for the craft challenged.
Thank you so much!
Hello from Pretty Pintastic. This is an awesome project. My hubby thinks some of my ideas are a bit crazy too. LOL. My daughter’s favorite craft item is buttons. She’ll love this.
Hi Erica! Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m happy you like the pumpkin sing! I had to laugh over your comment from your hubby – kindred spirit hubbies! ? So appreciate your visit, thank you!
Oh my goodness, this is just so, so awesome! I love it! And, they sell buttons in ombre packs? The crafting possibilities are endless! I love making stuff for my front door, too… its a little addicting. ?
Hi Carrie – you are too kind! Yes, they do sell ombre button packs! ? I found them at JoAnn and they totally inspired my pumpkin. I couldn’t agree with you more, making stuff for the front door IS addicting – though storing it all becomes a big challenge! ? Thank you so much for your sweet words and visit.
I love pumpkins, and yours looks great! Buttons are so cute, and I love the ombre effect. Great job!!
Thanks so much, Mandee! It was fun to make and the buttons totally inspired me. Thank you for your sweet words and visit!
So cute and so different! I love the unexpected!
Jenna, thank you so much! I really appreciate your visit and kind words!
totally beautiful and I want one too! Tell Mr. Smarty that there are really TONS of people that would make one – potentially smaller though – that is A LOT of buttons! Love the colors though and how it all flows around. Thanks for sharing!
? Thank you so much and I’m definitely telling him! It is a lot of buttons, and a smaller one would be just great! Thanks so much for your kind visit and words!
I love how cute and festive this is, Cindy! Thank you so much for sharing at this week’s Project Inspire{d}. Pinned and sharing!
Thank you so much, Mary Beth! It’s so sweet of you to visit and thank you, as always, for the party!
This is really darling – I love the ombre buttons!
Thank you for the sweet comment – I fell in love with the ombre buttons and it was all pumpkin from there! ?
I love this, but what I love more is that it sounds like you had such a fun time with it! That’s the best kind of crafting, isn’t it?
Thank you for sharing again this week with the Thank Goodness It’s Thursday party!
Thanks, Sarah – it was fun to make and you are so right, it IS the best part of crafting! Thank you so much for the party and hope you’re having a great week!
Very cute! I love the ombre effect. Did it take forever to make??
Hi Erin – I’m so behind on my comments! Thanks you so much for your sweet visit – it really didn’t take too long to make this, the beading was actually the most stressful part; mostly because more wound up on the floor! ? Thank you for visiting and have a happy weekend!
wow!! SO many buttons! the result is great though!! I love it!! I’m sharing it today in the Create Link Inspire features crafts addition over at Nap-Time Creations… pinned, tweeted and shared on FB… I’d love a retweet of fb share to help spread the word! Happy weekend.
Hi Emily! Thank you so much for sharing this and yes, it IS a lot of buttons but I love how it turned out! I retweeted yesterday for sure! Thanks again so much for your sweet visit and the feature – have a wonderful day!
Too fun! There is no such thing as too much if it makes you happy. Like chocolate.