Button Face Quirky Memo Board/ Maganet Collection Display/ Valance + Extra Credit

I just happened to have a ton of these 3" inch button faces in a box sans the rest of the components... I knew I'd find a use for them. I found all this junk laying around my house.

You Need:

Hammer
Side cutters
Needle Nose Pliers
Scissors
Indelible Marker
Block of wood
Nail or Screw
20 ga Crafting Wire (a bunch cut into 3-4" lengths)
Tension Rod for Hanging Curtains
54 3" Button Faces (the part of the button the image goes on)
A Piece of Paper Cut Square to Fit Inside the 3" Button Face
9 1"-1.25" Key Rings

Extra Credit:
Old Punk Rock or Other Buttons
Magnets
Glue Gun/ Sticks
Cardboard

Step 1 Make a Template

Trace the circumference of a button face. Find the center and draw a square to fit inside the button face. Cut it out.

Cut a little from the corners. This will act as your template for making the holes in your button face.

Step 2 Mark Your Punches

Holding your hole punching template centered on front of button face place a dot with indelible marker in each of the areas where the template is missing a corner.

For this particular size panel you need:
2 2 holed button faces
17 3 holed button faces
35 4 holed button faces

Step 3 Punch Yer Holes

With yer markings and button face up, place the lip of the button face over the corner of your block of wood, to prevent smashing the lip.

Place your nail/ screw on the marking and strike head of nail with hammer. It doesn't take much force. WATCH YER LIL TOOTSIES.

Now repeat this about a million times punching a hole in each marking.

Step 4 Stringing Them All Together

Start with you 4 hole punched button faces.

Take your 3- 4" piece of 20 ga craft wire thread through your freshly punched hole, with face side down put a .75" hook at the end.

Thread the other end through another a hole in another button face(down). Leave a roughly .125"(1/8") gap in between the buttons and bend over the other side of the button.

Take the longer end of the two and wrap several times around wires in between buttons. Trim excess wire.

Repeat in rows of 7 then stack each row of 7 joining them top to bottom punch.

For the outside edge use the 3 holed button faces with the 2 holed ones at each of the bottom corners.

Step 5 Getting It Hung

Take key ring and piece of wire. Wrap wire 2- 3 times around key ring in the gap area leaving .125" of slack at short end (the needle nose pliers comes in handy for squishing the wire into a neat row.)

Thread wire through the hole of a button face along to top edge of your sheet of button faces.

Wrap excess around the wires in between the button face and key ring.

Trim excess wire.

Step 6 Dress Up Tension Rod

I just happened to have a pretty similar color of spray paint to the color of my bedroom walls. Give it a couple of coats.

Thread tension rod through the key rings and hang. I choose the area next to my computer I have the perfect spot where the tension rod rests between the corner of my room and the frame of my window.

Great for dorm rooms or rentals... no nails required!

EXRA CREDIT! Button Magnets

Have some old 1"- 3" buttons that have maybe lost their back or ones you still love but never wear. You can make them into magnets without permanent damage.

If they are the type with the wire resting inside the button face simply pull the wire out, if you haven't lost it already. Make a cardboard riser and hot glue into back of button.

Or if they are the type in which the wire is part of the back shell of the button make risers out of cardboard to fit around fastener.

In either case hot glue card board to button back, and then glue magnet to cardboard. Presto!