Tutorial- Wooden twig / wood branch / tree branch buttons

While in the backyard, picking up you know what, I noticed that there were plenty of tree branches laying around after our last snowfall. So what is a girl to do? Leave the cleaning up to her darling husband and go inside and make buttons! This may be one of the easiest projects you may ever complete, and it's very rewarding to see your finished project.

So let's get started, here is what you will need to make your own DIY wood tree branch buttons.

Branch or twig
Hand saw or table saw
Sandpaper
Drill- I used a 5/64 bit and it was perfect
Wood polish (optional)

Step 1
Find a nice looking branch or twig. The sturdier the better, and you want to make sure that your bark is intact and doesn't peel off too easy. OR you want the bark to peel off really easy if you like the look of barkless buttons. Mine turned out half and half, not ideal for me, but not as bad looking as I thought.

Step 2
Saw your branch into 1/8 inch pieces. If your branch is very sturdy you could go even smaller. You will figure this out after your first cut. Now, I started off using my husbands table saw but that turned out not so well. Let's just say that I still have both eyeballs, but it was a close one. So I quickly switched to a hand saw, fine toothed. Unless eye patches are cool where you live, I recommend a hand saw too.

Step 3
Lightly sand the surface and sides of your button. This is to prevent snags but truly this isn't meant to be a functional button for me, just decorative, so I didn't go crazy with this step.

Step 4
Drill 2 or 4 holes into your button, depending on the look you want. I go for 2 since I am a lazy button sewer kind of lady. Also, the middle of my branch was so weak that I just set the drill on top and a hole was punched in the center. Next time I will look for a better branch. Weak bottom branch.

***No pictures here. It is really hard to hold a camera and drill tiny holes at the same time~ 


Step 5
Completely optional, and after completing this step I won't do it again. If you want a darker button face then this is a good way to get the look. I tried 3 different types of wood cleaner and polish that I had on hand. My favorite was the wood conditioner that I had on hand for our wood handled steak knives.

Step 6
Arrange your buttons on a crazy pretty bird plate and admire how very crafty you are. I suggest a cup of coffee too. Oh, I mean, put your button on something cool and show it off! I am currently looking for the perfect piece to attach it to. Those pics are to come!