Are Buttons Really that Complicated?

First, I try to decide what size buttons I want or need. Then, of course the hunt for the right branch gets underway. 

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Maybe I'll find the perfect branch in this stack of wood ...Yep, found it! The branch for these buttons was blown out of the tree by tropical storm Beryl, a recent visitor to our area.

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Using my band saw the branch is sliced into eight little pieces. Man-o-man, they look rough and that bark doesn't look very sturdy. Hmmm...

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The bark had to go and two of the slices did not pass my stress test. I tried to break each piece to make sure it was strong enough to be a button. These strong little guys will work :) (They feel a bit naked)

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The Dremel tool smoothed out the saw marks and the sander took care of the fine-tuning. It's tricky holding onto these little suckers while doing this.

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These buttons were so tiny, I used pliers to hold them in place while drilling two holes. I want to keep my fingers for another project.

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All surfaces were sanded several times until they were super-smooth. The edges were rounded a tad to soften them up. I included a pencil to help you see the size of the tinies.

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I applied wax and set them out to dry. Any extra wax will easily be buffed away.

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Finished branch buttons! 
These are the tiniest I've ever made, but little beauties. 
Complicated? You decide.

Find more buttons at http://www.hendywood.etsy.com

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