How to create a button wall hanging

I have recently discovered a facination for buttons and projects using them. Here is my project this weekend for my bathroom.

created at: 2009-05-10

Materials needed:

Long, thin wooden beads
Buttons, any colors you choose
Glass and bead glue(this is important, it has to be thick like hot glue, but work on slick surfaces)
Flat canvas or masonite
Acrylic paint
Grosgrain ribbon

First, I painted a flat canvas that I bought at Joann Fabrics. I used two colors, and divided them with a thin strip of grosgrain ribbon(I hot glued the edges to the back of the canvas).

While the paint was drying, I layed out wooden beads and buttons on another canvas to get an idea of what I wanted the final project to look like.

created at: 2009-05-10

Next I glued the "stems" to the painted canvas and let it dry. After they were dry, I played with the buttons a bit to get them how I wanted them(I ended up adding another color for depth) and glued them to the canvas. I was pretty careful, but I still managed to get some glue on the canvas. I think I can use a small piece of sand paper and very lightly sand it off without damaging the paint. After the glue cures overnight I will be able to hang it on the wall. Viola! Custom wall art!