Have you had the pleasure of visiting a button store? If so you were probably overwhelmed by the enormous quantity of stunning buttons in all shapes and sizes that are available to you. It seems a shame to only wear buttons on your clothing when there are so many other ways to show off these stylish pieces. It’s possible to make a very stylish ring from a single button with a little bit of know how. Here’s how to create a ring from an interesting button:

Supplies needed to make a ring from a button:

• Soldering iron (available from your hardware store)
• Wire cutters
• A ring blank
• Lead free solder
• Flux
• An interesting metal button
• Find a button that fits your style and personality.

If you don’t have a button store in your area, you can find contemporary buttons in fabric stores as well as beautiful vintage buttons in antique shops. You also have the option of removing buttons from discarded clothing to use to make your ring. For this project, you’ll need a button made out of metal

Remove the shank from the back of the button.

Use a pair of wire cutters to remove the metal shank from the back of the button. Be sure to wear protective eye goggles when doing this to protect your eyes if the shank should becomes airborne when you snip it. Use a metal file to file off any residual metal until the back of the button is smooth.

Solder your button to the ring shank.

Carefully apply flux to the ring blank where it will attach to the button and to the surface of the button where you’ll be soldering. Unwind your roll of solder and place the tip where the ring blank meets the back of the button. Using your soldering iron, heat the back of the button, the ring blank and the solder with the tip of your iron until the solder melts. Once you had a bead of melted solder, press your ring blank and button together with the melted solder in between and hold it until the solder cools down. At this point, your button and ring blank should have a permanent bond.

Although they’re more difficult to find, there are ring shanks that have a metal disk soldered to them. This allows you to simply snip off the button shank and use two part epoxy glue to bond your button to the metal disk on the ring shank. This also enables you to make rings from buttons made of materials other than metal. Vintage glass buttons look stunning when made into rings! This is a super quick and easy way to create a ring from a button.

Keep your eyes open for interesting buttons in on your shopping trips and in your travels. Now that you know how to make a ring from them, you’ll have an easy and inexpensive way to expand your jewelry wardrobe.