Recycle, eh

Every time I buy a new sweater or blouse, there always seems to be a little plastic bag with a button or two inside. A great idea but I've never actually had to use these buttons. Besides, I almost always forget where I put the little package. So instead of throwing the buttons into a drawer to be forgotten, I figured that they can be recycled into cute cards. If you have a bit of material or interesting paper on hand, you can create a one-of-a-kind card that anyone would be happy to receive.

If you're lucky enough to have a stash of buttons, here are a three more ways to recycle them into something special.

RECYCLE BUTTONS INTO JEWELRY

Make Button Earrings. If you only have a couple of buttons that are too pretty to toss out, why not make yourself a pair of earrings. All you need are two identical buttons and you're off.

Make a Button Necklace. If you have a stash of earrings, Martha Stewart has instructions for making a really beautiful necklace. 

Make a Button Bracelet. It's easy to create a one-ofa-kind bracelet from your buttons. Here's how:

1. Cut elasticized cord long enough to wrap around the wrist twice. 
2. To make a standard-button bracelet, thread elastic through from back to front and then to the back again (see above). 
3. For four-hole buttons, thread elastic diagonally through two holes on opposite corners. 
4. For a shank-button bracelet, thread elastic through shanks, turning every other button upside down to overlap. 
5. Once you've strung on enough buttons to reach around the wrist, thread both ends of elastic and tie off. 
6. Trim excess elastic.