One great homemade gift idea comes right from grandma's button box. Learning how to make button jewelry is so easy, and the finished button rings, bracelets and charms make such lovely, sentimental gifts.

Button jewelry supplies
To make button jewelry, you will need to gather a few simple supplies. The supplies I use are:

• Pretty buttons in a variety of colors and shapes
• Jewelry glue, such as Diamond Glaze
• Jewelry wire
• Jump rings
• Ring blanks and other findings

Make a button ring
Button rings are so colorful and pretty. I like to create a layer of three to four buttons for my rings. To make the simplest type of button ring, you will need to start with a ring blank. Simply glue the biggest button onto the ring blank with the least interesting side facing down. Then center a second smaller button on top of the bottom button and glue it into place. Add additional buttons to the stack until you are satisfied with the result.

You may want to finish the stack off with a rhinestone so that the button holes in the top button are covered. I try to find a shank button, which is the type of the button that has a little loop on the bottom instead of two or four holes in the surface, to finish my stack with. I usually have to snip off the shank to make the shank button adhere securely to the one below it.

If you don't have a ring blank, you can still make a button ring. Cut a piece of wire and thread it through a button so that the two loose ends come through the bottom of the button. Then, use the two ends to make a wrapped loop that is the right size for your finger. From here, you are ready to make the ring just as you would if you were using the ring blank.